


Best Day of My Life

by pcrrycox



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-04-24
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:56:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pcrrycox/pseuds/pcrrycox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Will you two please try to appreciate the gravity of my situation?” Stephanie half-shouted at them.<br/>Taylor burst out laughing.  “I'm sorry, Steph, I get why you're freaking out, but going on a date with Patrick Stump is the opposite of a problem.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“That was awesome!” Stephanie laughed as she and her friends exited the venue where they'd just seen Fall Out Boy perform.   
“Oh my god, I know!” Taylor gushed, unable to stop smiling.  
“Can you believe we got barricade again?” Stephanie said, her eyes still wild with excitement.  
“I could see Patrick's sweat,” Timmy said, laughing along with them.  
Stephanie's face fell and she raised a single eyebrow. “Step off my man, Timmy.” After a pause, the three girls bust out laughing, even though it was totally true – Patrick belonged to Stephanie.  
“Do you think he'll come outside?” Taylor asked. She was nervous, having missed meeting the guys too many times.  
“I'm sure he will,” Stephanie assured her. “It's gorgeous out and this is the last show of the tour. He better or I'll kick the little runt's ass.”  
The three of them laughed again and went to wait by the back door of the venue. Stephanie had been right – it was a gorgeous May night in Chicago with the wind barely blowing and the city buzzing with energy even at eleven at night. The three girls waited for just over an hour and the crowd waiting for the guys had thinned considerably. There was still a good amount of people left, but nothing compared to how many had been waiting right after the concert let out. Both Pete and Joe had exited the venue, smiling and waving, and gotten into cars. Eventually Andy came out and Stephanie thought Taylor was going to pass out. He got into a car as well but he high-fived those waiting as he walked and Taylor looked at Stephanie, her entire body shaking, and held up her hand.   
“He touched my hand,” Taylor breathed and Stephanie just laughed and shook her head.   
They waited for fifteen minutes more and finally the back door opened again and Patrick stepped out, fedora perched atop his head, glasses on, and wearing a faded denim shirt. Stephanie had been turned around talking to Timmy when Taylor saw Patrick and she almost punched Stephanie in the ribs to get her to turn around.  
“Stephanie! Steph, Patrick!”   
Stephanie spun around faster than Taylor's eyes could even process as Patrick headed toward the beginning of the line. They were way at the end, but their hearts sped up as they watched Patrick work his way slowly down the line, signing CD booklets and writing out lyrics and giving hugs. The closer he got, the more nervous Stephanie got. She'd met him twice before and seen him three times, so it wasn't like this was gonna be her first time meeting Patrick like it was Taylor's and Timmy's. Either way, though, she felt the butterflies in her stomach, and her hands were shaking.   
After what seemed like ages, Patrick reached Taylor she greeted him in a shaky voice and he hugged her tightly. She asked him to write out lyrics from “I've Got a Dark Alley” and he did so happily. She gave him her letter and he signed her copy of Save Rock and Roll. He then moved on to Timmy, who he also hugged. He signed her CD and smiled at her widely, which made her giggle quite a bit. When he reached Stephanie, he paused, though.  
“Give me a second,” Patrick said, his brows furrowed and Stephanie wasn't sure what to think. Patrick studied her for a moment and then his face lit up. “You're Stephanie, right?” he exclaimed and if Stephanie didn't look like she was gonna keel over. “The Soul Punk girl?”  
Stephanie's mouth fell open and she nodded before snapping her mouth shut, feeling stupid for a second. She chuckled. “I can't believe you remembered me,” she admitted.  
“Of course I remember you,” Patrick said, a huge smile on his face, his eyes crinkling. “You gave me those drawings and made the Hiatus Book, and didn't you spearhead the Soul Punk project? And,” Patrick pressed on, “you told me at the meet and greet how much Soul Punk means to you. How could I forget all that?”  
“I, well – I'm flattered, to say the least,” Stephanie laughed, her eyes watering.   
“Come here,” Patrick said, and Stephanie wrapped her arms around his back as he did the same to her. “Thank you,” he whispered before letting her go.   
“No, Patrick. Thank you, seriously,” Stephanie said, kind of not at all believing this was happening to her.   
Patrick chuckled. “Well, I have to get going, but it was really nice to meet you two,” he said, smiling at Taylor and Timmy, both of whom had been watching Patrick's and Stephanie's exchange in disbelief. “And it was great to see you again, Stephanie.” He winked at her before heading toward his car.  
Stephanie, Taylor, and Timmy had just started freaking out when Taylor realized Patrick had started walking back over to them.  
“H-hi, Patrick!” Taylor said loudly, and Stephanie and Timmy spun around.   
“Did you forget something?” Stephanie asked, looking around on the ground for anything he might have dropped.   
Patrick dropped his head and laughed, looking up at Stephanie with a smile. “Well, sort of. I was wondering if you were gonna be in town tomorrow. . .”  
Alarms started sounding in Stephanie's head and Taylor had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Timmy clutched Taylor's arm with a death grip.  
“I – uh – yeah, I am, actually.”  
“Great, great,” Patrick said, flustered. “Meet me here at, say, noon?”  
“I can totally do that,” Stephanie said, her voice trembling. “See you then, Patrick.”  
He nodded and smiled before getting in his car and pulling away.  
Taylor and Timmy were unable to speak as Stephanie slowly turned to look at them.  
“Holy shit.”

The next morning, Stephanie was up at eight, and she was positively freaking the fuck out. Taylor and Timmy did everything they could to calm her down, but nothing was working, and with the way she was pacing around their hotel room, there was no way they were getting back to sleep.   
Stephanie had sworn Timmy and Taylor to secrecy, to which they readily agreed, but there was no way Taylor wasn't going to capitalize on Stephanie's freak out.  
Day 2: Stephanie has created a rut in the hotel room floor. She has been pacing for approximately 34 minutes. Her eyes are wild and she might be foaming at the mouth. I'm too scared to get close enough to see, though. Stay tuned for more updates.  
“What the fuck did you just post?” Stephanie hissed.  
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Taylor said, trying to keep a straight face and failing. Stephanie glared at her. “Oh, stop it, I haven't violated our blood contract.”  
“There was no blood involved,” Timmy remarked.  
“Ssh, it sounds cooler this way.”  
“Will you two please try to appreciate the gravity of my situation?” Stephanie half-shouted at them.  
Taylor burst out laughing. “I'm sorry, Steph, I get why you're freaking out, but going on a date with Patrick Stump is the opposite of a problem.”  
Stephanie scoffed and practically fell to the floor. She laid flat on her back, spread-eagled in the middle of the room. Taylor and Timmy crawled to the end of their bed and peered down at Stephanie, who was staring straight at the ceiling.  
“I can't do it.”  
“Oh, wait just a minute!” Timmy scolded. “Let me get this straight – you're gonna pass up an opportunity to go on a date with your favorite fedora-ed singer because you're nervous.”  
“I, well, yeah.”  
“Well, okay, then,” Timmy said and Taylor looked at her like she was crazy. Timmy held up a finger to say, just give me a second. “I'll see if there's an earlier train home. We can stop by The Metro on the way to the station and tell Patrick you decided not to -”   
“Fine.” Stephanie sat up. “I'll do it. But if I throw up on him, it is absolutely your fault.”  
Timmy and Taylor just smiled and Taylor went back to blogging about the slight upturn in Stephanie's sanity.

“Have fun!” Taylor and Timmy called from the backseat of the cab that had just dropped Stephanie off in front of The Metro.  
Stephanie swallowed nervously and nodded as the two girls waved, the cab pulling away from the curb. Now she was alone and that was the worst thing for her right now. She was left to her own thoughts and that was pretty dangerous. Five minutes passed and it was noon and there was no Patrick. Stephanie started to freak out and she had half a mind to just hail another cab and go back to the hotel. But she couldn't. She would never forgive herself for standing Patrick up. No, she had to wait and try to calm herself.  
At 12:03, a sleek, black car pulled up right in front of Stephanie and the passenger side window rolled down.   
“Hey,” Patrick said from inside, leaning over to peer out the window.  
“Hi, Patrick,” Stephanie said quietly. She pulled the door open and got into his car.  
“You look beautiful,” Patrick said genuinely, smiling softly at her.   
Stephanie mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, this was not going to be horrible like she thought. Everything was going to be fine. She was with Patrick Stump, after all.  
“Thank you,” Stephanie blushed. “You don't look so bad yourself.”  
Patrick chuckled. “Thanks.:  
“So,” Stephanie said, trying to make small talk, “where to first?”  
“Ah-ah,” Patrick chided. “It's a secret!”  
Stephanie couldn't help but smile and watch out the window as Chicago flew by.  
They ended up having lunch at one of Patrick's favorite restaurants, all the while Patrick asking Stephanie about her life. He genuinely wanted to get to know her, and to be honest, she was enjoying the attention. They talked throughout the entire meal, and by the time they were ready to leave, Stephanie found herself unable to stop smiling.  
“Is it still a secret where we're going?” Stephanie asked with a laugh.  
“No, I guess not,” Patrick answered, pulling into traffic. “I thought we could go to Reckless Re –”   
“Say no more!” Stephanie cut him off, her eyes sparkling with excitement.  
“My lips are sealed,” Patrick said, and Stephanie had a sudden urge to lean over and check to see if his lips really were sealed.  
When they arrived at Reckless Records, Stephanie practically dragged Patrick inside before realizing that she was holding his hand. She stopped herself and blushed, and tried to take her hand away, but Patrick laced his fingers through hers and tightened his grip. Stephanie's inner monologue was going absolutely batshit crazy but she just smiled at Patrick through her lashes. They head inside and Stephanie followed Patrick around the store, jumping from place to place every time he thought of a new record to find or saw an artist he likes. She was quiet for the most part, but in a good way. She enjoyed watching him in his element, watching as his face lit up every time he saw a particularly good vinyl.   
Stephanie moved around to the next aisle so she was facing Patrick. He looked up and smiled at her, biting his lip. Stephanie had to look down because that lip bite was probably going to kill her. Upon looking down, she saw what was probably the weirdest band name she'd ever heard of. She pulled the jacket from the shelf and held it up for Patrick to see.  
“Butthole Surfers?” she asked, trying to hold back her laugh.  
“Hey,” Patrick said, “don't knock it 'til you try it!”  
Stephanie raised an eyebrow, placing the jacket back in its spot. “What? You've butthole surfed?”  
Patrick literally face-palmed while Stephanie laughed. “That's not what I meant,” he giggled. “I meant it's a good band!”  
Stephanie came back around into Patrick's aisle. “I know that's what you meant. I just like teasing you,” she smiled.  
Patrick took Stephanie's hands in his and pulled her closer to him. Stephanie looked up at him, a slow blush spreading onto her cheeks. “You're really beautiful when you laugh,” Patrick murmured, his eyes flickering all around her face.  
Stephanie couldn't help but laugh a little, probably out of nervousness. “Thanks,” she said quietly.   
Patrick looked down and he saw his watch. His eyes widened and he grabbed the few records he was planning on purchasing. “We have to get going!”  
“I – okay? Where are we going?” Stephanie asked.  
“This time, it's a secret again,” Patrick smiled and this time Stephanie pretended to pout. “Come on, you'll love it.”  
Patrick bought his records and he and Stephanie went back to his car. When they pulled up outside a building, Stephanie didn't recognize it.  
“Where are we?” she asked, but Patrick just took her hand and shook his head.   
“You'll see,” he said mysteriously. Stephanie shrugged mentally and followed him in.  
Patrick took her inside and through a series of hallways and corridors and finally stopped at a vault door. Stephanie's hand flew up and covered her mouth. She knew now where they were.  
“Patrick,” she breathed.  
He pulled the door open with a flourish. “Welcome to the I.V. Lab, Stephanie.”  
She stepped through the door and took in all the instruments and recording equipment around her. Patrick came up beside her, beaming.  
“What are we doing here?” Stephanie asked, awed by the studio.  
“I've kept it under wraps so far, and still plan to, but I've been working on a second album. I've got a couple demos I want to record and I figured, since you like Soul Punk so much –”  
Stephanie grabbed Patrick's hands and looked him straight in the eye though hers were watering. “Patrick, I can't even believe you're doing this. This means so much.”  
Patrick smiled and seemed to contemplate something before leaning in and kissing Stephanie's lips. It was brief and sweet and abso-fucking-lutely perfect. He pulled away and rested his forehead against Stephanie's.   
Stephanie cleared her throat – she had to do something so she didn't pass out. “So, I'll, uh, go wait in there,” she said pointing to the room behind them where producers and engineers typically sat.  
Patrick nodded, and as Stephanie pulled away, he grabbed her hand again and kissed her once more before letting her go. She walked over to the door and pulled it open and stepped inside. Shortly after, a man walked in and greeted Patrick and shook his hand. After talking briefly with Patrick, the man looked over at Stephanie, who was watching as Patrick's face lit up. The man nodded, impressed and Stephanie needed to sit down before she fell over. They talked a few minutes more before the man came in and greeted Stephanie, telling her he was the owner.  
“Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand.  
“You know,” he said, “Patrick really likes you.”  
Stephanie let out a nervous breath. “Really?”  
“Definitely. Ready, Patrick?” he asked, turning on the mic and speakers.  
Stephanie could scarcely believe where she was and what she was experiencing. She listened eagerly as Patrick played a couple of the songs on drums and guitar before moving to vocals. It sounded just like Soul Punk, but more evolved, more confident, more Patrick. When he finished, he put the instruments he'd used back and entered the room. He looked immediately to Stephanie, who jumped up and threw her arms around him.  
“That was absolutely spectacular.”  
“You think so?” Patrick asked.  
“With all my heart.”  
“Thank you for squeezing me in,” Patrick said to the man, who nodded. “I'll call you.”  
Patrick and Stephanie made their way back out to the street, where the sun had begun to set. Patrick opened Stephanie's door for her and she thanked him.  
“So, he said once he had gotten into the car, “what hotel are you at?”  
Stephanie told him and he knew where it was. The ride there was almost silent, but in the most comfortable way. Halfway there, Patrick reached over with his right hand and took Stephanie's left hand. Their fingers laced together and Stephanie was utterly content.  
When they reached Stephanie's hotel, Patrick got out of the car and opened her door for her again.   
“I had a really, really great time today,” Stephanie said.  
“So did I. I'm not sure when I'll be back in Michigan, but I'd really like to see you again. Soon.”  
“I would love that. I can give you my number,” she said, pulling out her phone.  
They exchanged phones and put their numbers in. Both of them pocketed their phones, and the moment Stephanie looked into Patrick's eyes, he placed on hand on her waist and his other went up to tangle in her hair as he pressed his lips to hers. Stephanie froze for a fraction of a second before hungrily kissing Patrick back, her arms wrapping around his waist. They stayed that way until a passerby coughed in annoyance. They pulled apart and Stephanie rolled her eyes at the woman.  
“I'll call you,” Patrick breathed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Promise.”  
Stephanie nodded before turning and heading into the hotel. She looked back once more and saw Patrick staring back at her, fedora slightly askew. She smiled and waved once more and he did the same before both of them turned and left. She took the elevator up to the fourth floor of the hotel and unlocked her room.  
Suddenly, Stephanie was assaulted by squeals and screams and Taylor and Timmy practically tackled her to the floor.  
“TELL US EVERYTHING!”  
Stephanie laughed and collapsed onto a bed.  
“Today was the most perfect day of my life.”  
She regaled the entire day to Taylor and Timmy, who were absolutely writhing with excitement by the time Stephanie finished. Once they all calmed down and once again swore themselves to secrecy, they headed to bed. Stephanie checked her phone once more before attempting to sleep and saw she had a text.   
Sleep well, Stephanie.


	2. Chapter 2

Stephanie has been home for three days and hasn't heard from Patrick once. She's a little peeved to be honest, but she also understands that he's an extremely busy man. She's trying not to get her hopes up, but it's hard when she misses the feel and taste of his lips so badly, misses his arms wrapped around hers, misses his smile and his laugh, misses everything about him. But she's not going to text or call him. She's not going to force this because she wants it to mean more than him just feeling sorry for her. She wants him to want her.  
Finally, on the fourth day she's been home, she gets a call and answers it immediately. “Hello?” she says hesitantly, her heart about to beat out of her chest.  
“Stephanie,” he breathes. It's him. His voice is what she's needed to hear for the last four days, what she's craved, what she's thought about far too much. “Stephanie, I'm so sorry I didn't call you sooner.”  
“Patrick, it's okay, I know you're busy,” Stephanie assured him. Any of her doubts or upset had been erased after just hearing his voice.  
“I miss you so much,” Patrick says and Stephanie closes her eyes and smiles.  
“I miss you too, Patrick.”  
“Where do you live?” he asks suddenly.  
“I, er –” After babbling for a moment, she tells him her address. “Where are you?”  
Patrick laughs and the sound is glorious. “Just down the road.” And he hangs up.  
Minutes later, there's a knock at Stephanie's door and she hurries to it. The moment she turns the knob, Patrick's inside, shutting the door, and pressing up against Stephanie, his lips finding hers moments later. Stephanie moans into his kiss and Patrick takes the opportunity to explore her mouth, his tongue tangling with hers. She reaches up and knocks his fedora off, her fingers threading into his hair. He grabs her hips and pulls her closer to him and she feels him, hard against her hip. Patrick moves from Stephanie's lips to her jaw and to her neck and she can barely stay on her feet.  
“Do you have a bedroom?” Patrick breathes and then laughs. “Of course you have a bedroom, my god.”  
Stephanie laughs against his neck. “Why, yes, Patrick, I do have a bedroom. Smooth.” She grabs his hand and leads him down the hall and to her room where Patrick nearly pushes her onto the bed. Patrick's hands are all over her body and it's all she can do to catch her breath. He pulls at the waistband of her jeans and Stephanie grabs his hand.  
“Patrick, I –”  
Patrick freezes, looking her straight in the eyes. “What is it?” he asks tenderly.  
“I'm kind of a virgin,” she mutters, avoiding his eyes.  
Patrick pauses for a moment longer and she chances a look at his face. He's looking down at her with those blue eyes, soft and loving. He leans down and kisses her gently. “I'm right here, okay? I'll go slow and if you're uncomfortable just tell me.”  
She nods and Patrick moves to lift Stephanie's shirt over her head. With hesitancy, she lets him and she wants to cry when he stops to take her in. She's never had a positive self-image and she cringes at what Patrick might be thinking about her. A single tear escapes Stephanie's eye and before she can do anything, Patrick leans down and kisses it away.   
“Stephanie, you're beautiful,” he tells her and from his tone, there is no doubt he is being anything but genuine. For some reason, this makes her want to cry even more, but Patrick's kissing down her neck to the top of her bra. She arches up into his touch and he undoes her bra, discarding it along with her shirt. Again, Stephanie feels exposed, but Patrick's gentle touches and warm kisses make her feel better somehow. He caresses her, his movements having shifted from needy and urgent to slow and deliberate. He moves down her body and undoes the button on her jeans, sliding them down her legs and letting them fall to the floor.   
She clears her throat before he can do much else. “Aren't you a little overdressed for the occasion?”   
Patrick smiles. “I suppose so,” he says, unbuttoning his shirt slowly.  
Stephanie watches as his nimble fingers work at the buttons and finally it's off and his chest is bare to her. He's extremely pale, maybe even paler than her, and she reaches up to run her hands down his chest, which is soft and warm, just like him. He has a small amount of chest hair that barely stands out against his skin. He sighs under Stephanie's touch before removing his jeans. He moves over her again and looks to her for permission before removing her panties. He slides them down her legs with a frustrating slowness and she shivers. Finally, his hands move to his boxer-briefs and he slides them down and fishes for the condom wrapper that's in the right pocket of his jeans. He finds it, opens it, and rolls it onto his flush length. Stephanie scoots back on the bed until her head is resting on a few pillows. Patrick reaches up and laces his fingers with hers and kisses her once more.  
“Are you sure?” he asks quietly, breaking the almost deafening silence that had settled over the room.  
Stephanie nods and catch her bottom lip in between her teeth. His hips roll forward and all at once, he's inside her, filling her up impossibly and she gasps, squeezing his hand. His head comes to rest against hers and he's breathing heavily. Once she's become acquainted with his size, she kisses him and rolls her hips up to meet his.  
He starts off slowly, almost leaving her completely before pressing back in. She's imagined this hundreds, thousands, of times and none of her fantasies even matched what she was feeling right now. The initial pain had faded away and now with each movement, Patrick was brushing against a spot inside her that made her arch up into him.   
“Look at me,” he whispers and Stephanie's heavily-lidded eyes meet his.   
Their faces are within inches of each other's and Stephanie's breathing quickens as she begins to tighten around him. Patrick speeds up just slightly and her hips are coming up to meet his. He's making small, low noises in the back of his throat and it's all becoming too much and she reaches her climax and digs her nails into the back of his palms.  
“Patrick,” she breathes over and over, like his name is her mantra.  
He leans in and captures her lips, swallowing her moans as he continues pushing into her, trying to find his own release. His mouth falls open against hers and he stops high and deep inside her and he groans deeply. He breathes heavily, his head falling into the crook of her neck. Stephanie untangles their fingers and wraps her arms around his back. After a few more moments of recovery, he pulls out of her and disposes of the condom. He comes back to the bed and pulls Stephanie to him.  
“That was perfect,” she whispers.  
“Exactly the word I'd use,” he says, pressing a final kiss to your forehead.


	3. Chapter 3

Stephanie and Patrick had laid on her bed together, Patrick holding her close to him as she rested her head on his chest. His fingers absentmindedly ran through her long, red hair and she listened to his even heartbeat. They were silent but in the most comfortable way. Stephanie always hated awkward silences and felt obligated to fill them with some pitiful form of small talk, but with Patrick, silence was comfortable. Stephanie felt Patrick's breathing hitch for a moment and when she lifted her head up to look at him she saw that he had begun to laugh.  
“Care to share the joke?” she asked, laughing along with him.  
Patrick got off the bed and pulled his boxer-briefs on before walking over to the opposite wall and pulling a picture off Stephanie's wall.   
“No, no, oh my god, Patrick, just put it back,” Stephanie pleaded, her face turning red with embarrassment. She brought the covers on the bed up to cover everything but her eyes as she watched Patrick. His back was still turned toward her and the fact that she couldn't see his expression was making her even more worried. “Please, Patrick,” she said quietly, tears gathering in her eyes.  
He turned, the picture still in his hand. He looked up at Stephanie and she was surprised to see the corner of his mouth turned up. His expression was soft, nostalgic. “This is from the first time I met you,” he said simply, “from when you gave me the drawings.”  
Stephanie hazarded a smile. “Yeah. Listen, Patrick, I'm sorry, that's probably really creepy. I should have taken it down. . .”  
Patrick set the picture on the top of Stephanie's dresser and moved back to the bed, sliding back under the covers next to her. “It's only creepy if you think me keeping the Hiatus Book is creepy.”  
Stephanie's body froze and her eyes snapped up to look at Patrick. “Y-you kept it?”  
Patrick nodded and sighed. “When we were just starting to think about getting back together and starting work on Save Rock and Roll, my biggest fear was that no one was going to care. Fall Out Boy had been gone for over three years. Who wouldn't move on?”  
“Patrick,” Stephanie whispered, aware that he was vulnerable at the moment, but he pressed on.  
“But Pete convinced me that there were people who still cared. I think after Soul Punk I became kind of jaded. I had believed in Soul Punk the way I believed in Folie à Deux and both were shot down. When we came back, the response was crazier than I think any of us expected. A lot of the fans had stuck around and we gained a lot of new ones. Even still, there were days when I wondered if coming back was the right choice. I still saw some of those people in the crowd – the ones that would be so angry when we played the new stuff. When I got the Hiatus Book, I couldn't get over the fact that so many people just stopped what they were doing when they heard about our comeback. Every time I think that this has all been a mistake, I look at that book, Stephanie, and I think of you, the person who was dedicated enough to design it and take all the submissions and give it to us. That book means a lot to me.”  
There were tears rolling down Stephanie's face and she took Patrick's hand in hers, but he wasn't done.  
“And then you went and did the Soul Punk Project. I know my response on twitter was probably not what you wanted, but I didn't know how to say how touched I was by it in 140 characters. I had been having a bad night and doing a Q&A probably wasn't the best idea because I just kept getting questions asking me to notice them, and then there was this flood of 'Hey, look at this!' Finally, I looked at the blog and I watched your video and I was really touched, I promise. I realized later that I really should have thanked you genuinely and directly, but I felt bad and decided I should just leave it alone.”  
“Patrick, I don't know what to say,” Stephanie said, still not letting go of his hand. She really was at a loss for words. She, Stephanie, a graphic designer from Michigan, had made an impact in her favorite band member's life that she really had never dreamed of. Even more, he was sitting right next to her.  
“Then don't say anything,” Patrick breathed and leaned in to press his lips to hers with a painful tenderness. The hunger that had burned through them earlier had shifted to a slow burn and their lips worked in tandem. Patrick pulled away for a moment, looking like he was getting up the courage to say something. “Stephanie,” he murmured, kissing her neck. “I like you. A lot. You're not like a lot of the other fans. You're not in it for the recognition or the autographs. I can tell you come from a genuine place. I've thought a lot about you in the past half a year and . . . You already mean a lot to me, okay?”  
Stephanie took a deep breath. She was already overwhelmed by everything Patrick had just told her, but why not push a little further? Now was the time. “Patrick, I'm not gonna lie. I've loved you for a long time. I've been a fan of yours for years and years and there was a point when I became aware that I was probably never going to meet you. The hiatus sucked, and even though everyone's solo projects kicked ass, I lost hope for a while. When you came back, everything changed and something inside me sparked. This was my chance to meet you and I can't believe I got to meet you three times. I really can't believe that you're here, in my room, holding my hand, but it's happening and I'll be damned if I haven't thought about this a hundred times before. It was because of you that I found out who I was, finally felt okay being me. But now that you're here with me, things feel different. I feel like, my god, this is gonna sound really cliché, but I feel like everything is right. I don't feel empty like I used to.”  
Patrick's eyes were watering as he placed a hand on the side of Stephanie's face. “I don't think I ever want to let you go, Stephanie,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.   
Stephanie nuzzled her face into the crook of Patrick's neck and they just stayed there, breathing in his scent, which she had already memorized in the short time they'd been together.   
“Stephanie!”a voice came from down the hall and Stephanie jerked away from Patrick, looking like a deer in headlights. “You couldn't even do the dish –” Stephanie's roommate stood in the doorway, stopped in her tracks, her mouth gaping open and her eyes wide.  
Stephanie jumped up, thankful she'd at least put her shirt and underwear back on earlier, muttered to Patrick that she'd be right back, and shoved Meaghan out the door and into the living room.  
“Oh my god!” Meaghan squealed, her lips curving up in a way that Stephanie knew she was in trouble. Meaghan loved to gossip and if this wasn't the juiciest situation she'd ever seen.  
“Meaghan, shut up and sit down,” Stephanie nearly growled. “You are not going to tell anyone about what you just saw. This needs to stay quiet and if you fucking ruin this for me, I will not rest until your life becomes a living hell.”  
“Whoa, slow down, Steph,” Meaghan laughed.  
“I'm not joking!”  
Meaghan's expression softened. “Calm down, I'm not gonna tell anyone! I can't believe your 'little runt'-” fucking air quotes - “is actually in your bed!”  
“Yeah, well, he is, and you need to leave us alone,” Stephanie said quietly before turning on her heel and returning to her bedroom.   
Patrick was still on the bed, his phone out. He looked up when Stephanie came in and shut the door. He quirked an eyebrow at her and she just smiled, kissing him quickly before rejoining him on the bed.   
“What are you doing?” Stephanie asked playfully.  
Patrick smiled down at her. “Q&A.”  
“Should have known,” Stephanie laughed. “Any good ones?”  
“Well, someone asked if there was anyone special in my life,” Patrick said non-chalantly.  
“Oh, yeah?” Stephanie asked, her voice rising an octave.  
“Mhmm,” Patrick hummed. “I said yes, by the way.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Mind if I shower?” Patrick asks a little while later, having finished his Q&A by answering a question in broken French.   
“Of course not,” Stephanie said. “Bathroom's down the hall and there are towels in the cabinet.”  
Patrick pressed a kiss to her forehead before gathering his clothes and heading to the bathroom.  
Almost instantly after Stephanie hears the bathroom door shut, her phone rings. She grabs it off her nightstand and sees Taylor's name. She rolls her eyes before putting the phone to her ear. Before she even says hello, Taylor is screaming at her.  
“Patrick's tweet! He has someone special! I bet it's you, Stephanie, oh my god, have you heard from him?”  
“Calm down!” Stephanie laughed, her voice slightly hushed.  
“Why are you talking so quietly?” Taylor asked. The following yells made Stephanie's ear ring. “HE'S THERE, ISN'T HE?”   
“That wasn't calming down.”  
“Stephanie, you're avoiding the question. He's there, isn't he? What did you guys do? Did he take you on another cute date? Wait, aren't you home? Did he come visit you?”  
“Yes. Things. No. Yes. Yes.”  
“I forgot what I asked.”  
“Guess that sucks for you,” Stephanie teased.  
“Stephanie,” Taylor whined. “Tell me!”  
Stephanie sighed. “Our blood contract is still in effect.”  
“Cross my heart, cross my fingers.” Stephanie could practically hear how proud of herself Taylor was for that one.  
“Shut up. Okay, so he called me and asked my address, so I told him, and within like ten minutes, he was here.” Stephanie kept glancing nervously at the door even though she could still hear the shower running. “I opened the door and he practically assaulted me with his mouth.”  
“Sweet fucking dicks. So did you do the deed?”  
“Taylor!”  
“Stephanie!”  
“Ugh, okay, fine. Yes, we did. Taylor, oh my god, it was amazing. He was amazing. Just. . . wow.” Stephanie heard a thud on Taylor's end and grew alarmed. “Taylor? You okay?”  
“Sorry! I was happy-dancing and I might've dropped my phone. But oh my god! Stephanie!”  
“I won't make you share all the hairy details –”   
“You just had to say hairy, didn't you?” Stephanie laughed.  
“Yeah, kinda. I'm really happy for you, Steph!”  
Stephanie couldn't wipe the smug grin off her face. “I'm happy for me too.”  
Taylor just laughed. “Okay, well, I'll let you get back to your lover.”  
“Don't call him that!”  
“What am I supposed to call him?”  
“I don't know! Just keep your mouth shut, all right?”  
“My lips are sealed. So is my blog, I promise!”  
“Good,” Stephanie said. She trusted Taylor but her paranoia usually got the better of her. “I'll talk to you later, okay?”   
“You better! Bye!”  
They hung up and Stephanie decided she should probably shower too, so she grabbed fresh clothes and headed to Meaghan's bathroom. Her roommate had gone out for the rest of the day to do who knows what and for that Stephanie was thankful. The moment the warm water hit her she felt completely at ease. Not that she had been uneasy around Patrick, but everything had kind of happened so fast that she needed to be alone for a bit to unwind and replay everything. God, he had been amazing. Her mind replayed everything that had happened since Chicago until just a few minutes ago.   
Stephanie breathing became rapid and, okay, a panic attack. Fantastic. She leaned against the wall of the shower, closing her eyes, and focused on her breathing. She tried to push every other thought out of her mind, but Patrick kept coming back. She used him to her advantage. Patrick made her feel safe and loved. It wasn't too long before her breathing was slowing and she could open her eyes. Continuing to breathe slowly and deeply, she finished showering fairly quickly. She got out and dried herself off before pulling on a purple shirt and jeans. When she left the bathroom, she went back to her room to find Patrick sitting on the bed.  
“Hey,” he said softly when she appeared in the doorway.  
“Hey there,” Stephanie smiled, coming into the room. “Do you need my computer for anything? I'm sure you have stuff to do.”  
Patrick smiled. “Yeah, actually, that'd be great.”  
Stephanie grabbed her laptop, typed in her password, and handed it to Patrick. “I'm gonna go make some food. Want anything?”  
“I'm sure whatever you're making will be fine,” Patrick said, smirking up at her. She couldn't help but smile back – everything about him was infectious.  
Stephanie left the room and had gotten to the refrigerator when she realized her home page was tumblr. Nononononono. She almost ran back to her room and lunged at the bed and slammed the laptop shut, narrowly missing Patrick's fingers.  
“I, uh,” Stephanie muttered, cradling the laptop against her chest.  
“Hi there,” Patrick said, his eyes a little wide, but a smile threatening to break through.  
“So. . . did you see. . . anything?”  
Patrick's expression turned serious. “You don't write Peterick, do you?”  
Stephanie burst out laughing, almost dropping her laptop. She could barely get any words out, but she managed to cough out, “Oh, god, Patrick, not in a million years, but that was gold!” Patrick took her hand and pulled her over to him. All at once, Stephanie stopped laughing. “But seriously, you're not creeped out or anything? I'm so –”  
“Ssh,” he murmured. “I vow to never look at your blog again, okay? I didn't see anything bad, but it's your blog and I can respect your privacy.”   
Stephanie looked into Patrick's eyes, searching for any signs of anger or disgust and found none. “Thank you.”  
Patrick pressed a kiss to her lips. “Why don't we go and get something to eat?”  
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Stephanie agreed and she set her laptop on her dresser and slid on a pair of shoes.   
As they walked out the door of Stephanie's apartment, Patrick took her hand in his, watching her to gauge her reaction. She just squeezed it tighter as they walked to his car. She was so damn lucky.


	5. Chapter 5

Stephanie and Patrick settle on a relatively popular restaurant that serves pretty much everything under the sun. They ask for a small booth near the back of the restaurant. No one knows Patrick is here, but Stephanie isn't ready to be thrust into the public eye just yet so she'd rather be safe than sorry. She told Patrick as much and he completely understood. They had ordered their food and were in the middle of talking about Patrick's plans for Soul Punk the Second when Stephanie stops.  
“Patrick,” she says through her teeth, cutting him off.   
“I – what?”   
“I think that girl just took a picture of us.” Patrick can see the fear in Stephanie's eyes. He's more than used to having pictures snapped of him wherever he went, but Stephanie isn't.   
“Are you sure?” Patrick asks. He likes to give people the benefit of the doubt, but the look Stephanie is giving him is tugging at his heartstrings.   
“Yeah.”  
Patrick sighs. There are only two options and he knows he needs to pick the more awkward one. On one hand, he could just ignore the girl and let whatever happened happen, but on the other, he could approach her, ask her to delete the picture, and then take a picture with her.   
“Just give me a second,” Patrick says, moving to get up when Stephanie grabbed his hand. “What is it?”  
Stephanie is even more pale than usual and she turns her phone around so Patrick can see the screen. It's a text from Taylor, in all caps: CODE RED. YOU'RE ON THE INTERNET.  
By the time Patrick reads and processes what is on the screen, the girl and her friend are at the front of the restaurant paying for their meal.   
“Stephanie, it's gonna be okay,” Patrick says desperately, holding Stephanie's hand and trying to get her to look him in the eyes.  
But on the other side of the table, Stephanie's falling apart. And fast. Her eyes flick up to Patrick's for a second before she pulls her hand back and begins scrolling through her phone. Her face crumples as she continues and Patrick doesn't know what to do.   
“Stephanie, talk to me. What's going on?”  
She just shakes her head and keeps scrolling. What Patrick can't see is that she's reading through her messages on tumblr, most of which are anonymous, and almost all of them say the same things. “Why would Patrick Stump date you?” “Who do you think you are?” “Die, bitch!”  
Stephanie's hands are shaking as she sets her phone down on the table and blows past the waiter who's just arrived with their food. She heads straight for the bathroom because one of two things are going to happen. One, she's going to be sick, or two, she's going to have a full-blown panic attack. She throws open a stall door and her stomach lurches. She's vaguely aware that Patrick has followed her into the women's bathroom and is holding her hair and rubbing her back. When she's finished, Patrick backs up to let her out and she moves to the sink to rinse her mouth out. Her forearms are on the edge of the sink and she rests her forehead on them, trying to control her ragged breathing. She hears an awful, heart-wrenching noise and realizes she's sobbing. Patrick's got his arms around her and he's whispering against her hair, telling her it's gonna be all right, that everything's gonna be okay. Eventually, Stephanie calms enough to speak.  
“We need to leave,” she whispers.  
Patrick nods and they exit the bathroom. Stephanie keeps her head down. She doesn't need the judgemental stares she's sure they're getting. When they get to the front, Patrick kisses the top of her head and tells her to wait in the car, handing her his keys. He pays the bill even though they didn't eat anything and hurries outside. Stephanie's eyes are wide and her face expressionless but Patrick can tell how badly she's shaking.  
He takes her hand firmly in his as he pulls out of the parking lot and begins the short drive back to Stephanie's apartment. “We'll figure this out,” he promises and Stephanie gives an almost imperceptible nod.  
They arrive back at her apartment and Stephanie collapses on the couch, kicking off her shoes. Patrick covers her with a blanket and kisses her forehead. He tells her he's going to make some calls and he'll be right back. He slips out her front door after asking if she needs anything, to which she shakes her head.   
Stephanie knows she shouldn't and she really doesn't want to, but something inside compels her to pick up her phone that Patrick had grabbed before following her to the bathroom. She's got about ten texts from Taylor asking with varying urgency whether or not she's okay, about forty twitter notifications, and upwards of a hundred messages on tumblr. She starts with Taylor, sending her a shortened version of what's going on and telling her that no, she's really not okay but what the hell can she do about it other than try and find the girl who posted the picture and commit first degree murder. Then she goes to tumblr and just watches as more and more messages pour in. Most of them are negative, but there are some in there that are wishing her well or that are just genuinely curious. She has half a mind to delete her blog right then and there, but she doesn't. Instead, she makes a short text post asking people to just stop sending messages because she's not going to answer any of them. Of course, this only makes people want to send them more, but she's made up her mind. She's ignoring them, whether they're threatening or not. She doesn't delete any of them, not yet. She just hopes that when Patrick comes back, he has a plan because this is way more insane than she had ever envisioned.  
He comes back ten minutes later, looking a little more frazzled than before and that doesn't exactly instill confidence. Even still, Stephanie's glad he's back because that means something has been figured out. He plops down on the couch next to Stephanie and looks her straight in the eye.  
“How do you feel about going public?”  
Stephanie splutters for a moment before she can speak. “Aren't we already at this point?”  
Patrick shrugs. “Sort of. We can always deny it, though, say we're just friends.”  
“Or?” Stephanie prods even though she knows the other option.  
“Or,” Patrick breathes, “we can just confirm that we're dating and face it head-on. That way there won't be controversy and the hype might die down a little more quickly.”  
Stephanie sighs and then shrugs. “What do you want to do? This affects you just as much as it does me.”  
Patrick holds out his hand and Stephanie takes it. “I say we go for it. I don't want to have to hide you and lie about you. I want you to be mine and everyone to know it.”  
Stephanie gives him a small smile and leans over to kiss him quickly. When she pulls away, her phone catches her eye again. “What about the messages?”  
“Just ignore them. Delete them. I guess just keep blogging normally. If you don't make a big deal out of them, people will eventually calm down. Not right away, but if it ever gets too bad, please tell me, all right?”  
Stephanie nods and leans against Patrick's side. He puts his arm around her and Stephanie suddenly feels better. With Patrick, she feels safe. She knows this won't be easy but as long as he's there by her side, she can manage.


	6. Chapter 6

x TWO WEEKS LATER x

Stephanie has been keeping busy for the most part. Her life continues on almost as if she and Patrick hadn't gone public. The press doesn't know enough about her to really stalk her and she only gets approached in the corridor at school two or three times. She's really thrown herself into her schoolwork, has taken a hiatus on her blog, and has deleted her twitter. She really only keeps in contact with close friends. Taylor texts her often, just to check up on her, and she and her roommate have been getting on better (it might have something to do with the fact that Stephanie finally put her in her place). The awful things that people were sending her haven't subsided much, but she finds them easier to ignore when she gets a call from Patrick. Fall Out Boy are on a short tour at the moment – less than a month – but she has to admit how badly she misses him. She had known it wasn't going to be easy, but that knowledge didn't prepare for how much she wants him beside her, pulling her into a hug and kissing her.  
Taylor calls her one Thursday afternoon and she sounds vaguely upset.   
“Stephanie,” she says, “please come visit. You need to get away, I can tell. And I miss you.”  
Stephanie sighs. She can miss her classes tomorrow and she doesn't have classes on Monday because of some holiday. “Fine,” she says with a semblance of a laugh.   
Taylor splutters on the other end. “Are you serious?”  
“Yeah, I'll leave early tomorrow morning,” Stephanie tells her and she swears she can hear Taylor actually jumping up and down. “See you tomorrow!”  
“Hell yeah!” Taylor practically shouts into the phone and Stephanie has to hold it about six inches away from her ear. “Okay, bye! Start packing!”  
Stephanie assures her that she will and they hang up. Before she starts packing, she texts Patrick about her plans and he tells her to be careful and that he loves her. It doesn't make her feel better.

* * *

The drive to Taylor's is long and boring, and requires multiple stops for gas and food. Finally, she gets to Taylor's and practically collapses on her couch. Taylor hops up onto the couch next to Stephanie and Stephanie swears that if Taylor had a tail, it'd be wagging. Stephanie just shakes her head and closes her eyes for what feels like less than a minute. Soon, she feels Taylor repeatedly poking her in the arm until opens one eye and arches her brow. The smile is gone from Taylor's face once Stephanie looks at her and she sits back and crosses her arms.  
“Spill.”  
“Spill what?” Stephanie asks even though she knows exactly what Taylor means.  
“You're upset. I can tell.”  
“Am not.”  
“Don't insult me, Stephanie.”  
Stephanie sighs. “What do you want me to say, Taylor? I'm in a pretty crappy situation. Patrick's gone on tour, I can't go online without being called a bitch or a slut, and everything just kind of sucks right now.”  
Taylor immediately pulls Stephanie into a hug, and she has to admit, it helps a little. She's been so alone for the past two weeks – the day they went public was the last time she saw Patrick – and it feels nice to have some sort of human contact other than her class- and roommates.   
“Do you want me to tell you what's going on on tumblr?” Taylor asks hesitantly. She really doesn't have anything to report that would make Stephanie feel worse, so she decides it's not too bad an idea.  
Stephanie shrugs. “Do I really wanna know?”  
“I probably wouldn't tell you if there was something really awful anyway, so you're good. And there really isn't anything awful in the first place. The picture that girl took of you two at the restaurant is the only picture, so of course, it's gotten reblogged to high hell. I've gotten a lot of people asking me about you two, but I haven't answered any of them. I made one post and told everyone to stop asking me because I'm not saying anything, so I haven't gotten as many messages. I've gotten way more asking if you're okay. Nobody's said anything bad about you – not to me, anyway. I've actually seen a lot of positive comments on the picture of you and Patrick, wishing you well.”  
“Really?” Stephanie asks as she relaxes a bit. She has a feeling that Taylor wouldn't lie to her, not about this.  
Taylor nods. “People really just miss you and your special brand of spaz-blogging.”  
Stephanie has to laugh at that one and she hugs Taylor again. “Thank you,” she says quietly. They break apart and almost immediately, Stephanie's phone rings. “It's Patrick,” she says and answers it. Taylor sits there, bouncing excitedly, especially when Stephanie's eyes light up.  
“What is it?” Taylor asks impatiently, spinning around so she's lying on her back across Stephanie's lap, looking up at her expectantly.   
Stephanie slaps a hand over Taylor's mouth and Taylor glares up at her. “Okay,” Stephanie says, a huge smile forming on her face. “I'll tell her.”  
“Tell her what?” Taylor yells and she can hear Patrick laugh on the other end.   
He says something and Stephanie answers with, “Yeah, she's kind of a dork.” Taylor smacks Stephanie's arm and she laughs. “Okay,” Stephanie says again. She blushes and then says, “I love you too,” quietly before hanging up.  
“What are you gonna tell me?” Taylor cries, sitting up.  
Stephanie shrugs and just looks around the room, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Taylor's unamused face. “Okay, fine,” Stephanie laughs. “You're not gonna pass out, right?”  
“Why would I pass out?” Taylor asks, arms crossed and brows furrowed.  
“Because you're seeing Fall Out Boy at The Rave from side-stage tonight.”  
Taylor just sits there for a moment, her face blank. Then she starts laughing. No, not just laughing. She's pretty much scream-sobbing and she's shaking and there are actual tears running down her face but she looks like the happiest person on the planet.  
“Had I known this was gonna be your reaction,” Stephanie practically cackles, “I would have told you sooner!”  
Taylor's lying on her back now, gasping for air. “You are one sadistic human being,” she manages to choke out before having another fit of scream-laughter.  
“You're not gonna do this at the show, are you?” Stephanie asks through her giggling.  
“No,” Taylor says, clutching her stomach and sitting up, “I'm probably gonna be passed out. Either that or it'll be like I have a built in homing device that leads me straight to Hurley's dick.”  
“Taylor!”

* * *

Stephanie and Taylor leave for The Rave at 5, and per Patrick's instructions, they go to the door on the side of the venue, and security lets them in. They're led to Fall Out Boy's dressing room, but when they walk in, there's only a few people there and none of them are Fall Out Boy.   
When one of them turns around and stands, smiling at them, Taylor stops in her tracks. “Hey, you guys must be Stephanie and Taylor,” he says. “The guys are doing an interview right now but they should be back in a few minutes. I'm –”  
“Matt Mixon,” Taylor chokes out, somehow able to give him a smile when he quirks an eyebrow.  
“Yeah,” he laughs, holding out his hand for both Stephanie and Taylor to shake.   
The three of them make small talk for five minutes before the dressing room door opens and the guys file in one after the other. Stephanie watches Taylor from the corner of her eye, but Stephanie is impressed with how well she keeps her cool. They both stand when the guys see them, and they both greet all of them, shaking hands and giving hugs.   
Mixon announces that he's tired of just sitting around and wants to explore the supposedly haunted venue, and Andy says he'll go with him. As they head for the door, Andy turns and looks at Taylor, who looks like a deer in headlights.  
“Do you wanna come with?” Andy asks and Taylor tries not to say yes before the last word has left his mouth. She stands and follows them out the door.   
Joe is in the corner of the dressing room now, messing with his guitar, and Pete plops down on the couch next to Stephanie, putting his arm around her shoulders while Patrick looks on from a chair, noticeably fidgeting.  
“So, Stephanie,” Pete says slyly, “tell me about yourself.”  
Stephanie chuckles nervously and clears her throat. It's a little hard to concentrate when Pete Wentz has his arm around her. “Um, well, I'm studying graphic design at –”  
“Steph, do you wanna come with me?” Patrick asks suddenly, and Stephanie knows the look in his eyes.  
“Where are you going?” Pete asks, sitting up as Stephanie stands.  
“Shut the hell up, Pete,” Patrick mutters, grabbing Stephanie's hand and leading her out of the room.  
They can hear Pete laughing his ass off as Patrick leads her down a hall and through a doorway. They're in a smaller dressing room, but it's thankfully empty, and Patrick shuts and locks the door. Stephanie's standing in the middle of the room, tears already flowing down her cheeks. Patrick moves to her quickly, almost unexpectedly. Suddenly, she's in his arms and she's clutching the material of his denim jacket. One of his hands is in her hair and the other on her back, holding her close to him.   
“I missed you so much,” he breathes, pressing kisses to the side of her face and down her jawline.  
Stephanie pulls back and Patrick wipes the drying tears from her cheeks. “I miss you even more,” Stephanie says and she can't help but laugh because Patrick's here, he's finally in her arms, and she's in his.  
He leans down and captures Stephanie's lips with his, running his hands down her arms and sides. She grabs him by his jacket and pulls him closer. They kiss for what feels like an hour, and as badly as they both want each other, they know it's neither the time nor the place, so they settle for kissing each other's lips and necks and jaws, for making each other blush with promises of what they're going to do to one another, for feeling and exploring.  
Too soon, there are voices outside the door, and Stephanie and Patrick break apart, lips swollen and faces flush. There's a knock and they hear Pete's voice on the other side.   
“Patrick, we started warm-ups. Quit sucking face and get back to the dressing room.”  
Patrick shakes his head and Stephanie giggles. He kisses her once more before they walk back to the dressing room hand-in-hand. Patrick opens the door and immediately, they're greeted by hoots and hollers and laughter and Stephanie smiles and turns bright red. She figures she could definitely get used to this.  
When it's time for the guys to go on, Marcus shows them where they can stand and even he smiles at Stephanie. They open with The Phoenix and Taylor looks like she's having a religious experience as she watches Andy. Mixon comes and stands next to her and she smacks him in the arm when she sees him laughing at her.   
“Just because he's your husband,” Taylor yells over the roar of the music, “doesn't mean I can't look!”  
Mixon throws his head back and laughs. When he recovers he bends down and whispers in Taylor's ear, “I'm willing to share.” Her eyes go wide for a moment before she smiles and raises an eyebrow. They don't say anything else but Stephanie can pretty much feel the sexual tension radiating from the two of them and she rolls her eyes. She's got her man and apparently Taylor's got two of them.   
Speaking of her man, his energy is through the roof. During This Ain't A Scene, he jumps up on one of the risers and commands the crowd like she's never seen. He growls during I Don't Care while looking right at Stephanie, and her knees feel weak. His eyes are dark and his hair is clinging to his face and he looks fucking hot.   
Finally, their set ends and Marcus hauls Pete back up onstage, and Patrick hands his guitar off to Diaz and makes a beeline for Stephanie.   
“Come on,” he mutters, and he practically drags her down the stairs and into a closet. Apart from a broom or two and a mop, it's empty, and Stephanie pushes Patrick up against the back wall. He takes off his Young Blood jacket and his shirt and Stephanie kisses down his chest and stomach. Patrick's head hits the wall as she unbuttons his pants and pushes them down his thighs, taking his boxer-briefs with them. Before he can do anything, she's got her mouth around him, her hands holding his hips tightly. He groans quietly as she continues doing glorious things with her mouth. It's not much longer before Patrick takes her hand and pulls her up, kissing her hard. He spins them around, Stephanie's back against the wall now, and she quickly gets rid of her pants. Patrick slides her underwear down and she kicks them off. He pulls her close before thrusting up into her. It's Stephanie's turn to moan now as he finds a rhythm. Stephanie feels just on the edge of close when the door to the closet bursts open and Taylor, Mixon, and Andy tumble in.  
“Uh,” Mixon mutters because he's the first to see them.   
“What?” Andy and Taylor say almost in unison as Mixon pushes past them and walks out the door. Taylor and Andy turn and the moment Taylor sees Patrick and Stephanie rushing to put their clothes back on, she slaps a hand over her eyes and stumbles out of the closet, followed extremely closely by Andy.  
After Patrick and Stephanie manage to pull their clothes back on, Stephanie rests her forehead against Patrick's shoulder and laughs.   
He smiles and kisses the top of her head while wrapping his arms around her. “We'll continue this soon, I promise,” he says and Stephanie holds him tighter.


	7. Chapter 7

“Patrick, I can't go out there,” Stephanie says as he tries to drag her out of the venue to face his band mates.  
“Do you know how many times I've caught Pete with his ass in the air? It's fine,” he says. “We'll hang out on the bus for a while and then go to a hotel for the night. No big deal.”  
“They saw me naked!” Stephanie screeches, covering her mouth, eyes wide. Patrick laughs.  
“I think they saw more of me,” he says. “I was covering you mostly. I promise. It's going to be okay.”   
Patrick smiles and takes Stephanie's hand, grabbing his bag on the way out of the dressing room. They're the last to leave, and while Patrick knows there will be stragglers waiting outside the bus, he hopes they'll be somewhat sane when they see him bringing Stephanie onto the bus.  
He squeezes Stephanie's hand as they step outside. No one can see them as they navigate the stairs in the darkness, but as they get closer to the bus, Patrick can hear the volume of those waiting increase. He lifts his head and smiles and waves at them, and Stephanie grips his hand tighter. There can't be more than fifteen people left as it's over two hours after the show (it took quite a lot of convincing to get Stephanie to even leave the closet). They scream his name and shout “I love you!”s and soon he and Stephanie are safely on the bus.   
“That was surprisingly uneventful,” Stephanie remarks and Patrick kisses her cheek.  
“Told you there was nothing to worry about!”  
Stephanie smiles and then peers around him, looking out the tinted bus windows. “You should really go back out there,” she says quietly.  
Patrick is quiet for a moment as he turns and looks out the window as well. “You'll be okay for a little while?” he asks.  
“Of course! I know I'd want you to come back out if I were them,” Stephanie says, smiling as she remembers all the times she has waited outside of venues for Patrick. She presses a quick kiss to his lips before sending him back out. She can tell he wanted to stop, but he's so protective of her, so caring. She watches him for a few moments, smiling at the fans' excited faces, some crying, others shaking, before she joins everyone else in the bus's lounge.   
Joe and Pete are sitting across from each other at the table, talking animatedly about the show, and Taylor is sitting between Matt and Andy. The three of them are talking, but Stephanie can't hear. When Taylor spots her, she smiles and waves her over.   
“Hey,” Taylor says, “you okay? Where's Patrick?”  
Stephanie takes a seat on the couch across from Taylor. “Yeah, I'm fine!” she laughs. “I told him to go say hi to the fans that were still waiting.”  
“Aw,” Taylor gushes, “that was sweet of you!”  
Stephanie just blushes and smiles. Before she can process anything else, Pete slides out of his seat and plops down next to her.   
She laughs nervously. “You sure move fast, Wentz.”  
“It's one of my many specialties. Speaking of specialties, tell me some of yours. I'd like to get to know you, Stephanie.”  
Stephanie doesn't know whether or not to take Pete seriously. He's got this weird half-smile going on, an eyebrow raised, and his eyes are pretty much twinkling. He looks so damn mischievous that Stephanie can't help but burst out laughing.   
“What's so funny?” Pete asks, chuckling himself. Andy is sitting there watching them, a small smile on his face, while he shakes his head almost imperceptibly.   
After Stephanie recovers, she smiles at Pete. “Nothing, you just look like you're up to no good.”  
Pete pretends to pout for a moment. “Why does everyone think that?”  
“Because it's usually true,” Joe offers from Stephanie's right.  
“Okay, Pete,” Stephanie says, “what do you want to know?”  
“I just want to know that you're not gonna break Patrick's heart. He's my best friend.”  
The mood of the rooms shifts from joking to serious and Stephanie knows all eyes and ears are on her. Even Taylor has stopped quietly pestering Matt and is paying attention. Stephanie clears her throat and just says what she's always felt. No exaggeration, no lies, just how she feels.  
“Patrick means a lot to me. He's the reason I figured out who I was. Ever since I first became a Fall Out Boy fan, I felt this connection with him, something that I couldn't explain for a long time. When I met him for the first time I just felt so . . .” She searches for the word and finds it when a voice says it at the front of the bus.  
“Right,” Patrick says from the doorway. Stephanie jumps slightly and looks up at him.  
“Right,” she repeats. “When I'm with Patrick, I feel like I'm home.”  
Pete crosses his arms and clears his throat and if she didn't know any better, Stephanie would have sworn she saw a tear. “Good, then. That's good,” he says gruffly before standing and returning to his seat at the table.   
Patrick holds out his hand and Stephanie stands and moves to him. They're about to leave when Stephanie remembers Taylor. She tells Patrick to wait a moment and she walks back into the lounge. “You'll be okay?” she asks Taylor, who has to try her very hardest to resist rolling her eyes, and instead answers with, “Of course. Call me tomorrow?” Stephanie assures her that she will and she's genuinely happy for Taylor, though she'd really rather not know what's (or who's) gonna go down at Fuck City tonight.  
The fans have all gone home or back to their hotels, so Stephanie isn't worried when they wait at the curb while Patrick hails a cab. He finds one fairly quickly and he tells the driver the name of the hotel. Stephanie feel strange because she's not nervous at all. In any other circumstance, she probably would be, but she feels so safe with Patrick that she can't help but forget all her worries.  
When they get to the hotel, they take the elevator up to Patrick's floor and he quickly slides his key and opens the door. It's a suite, of course, but it's not overly grand or luxurious. Stephanie doesn't feel out of place when she walks in, and she's thankful for that. Patrick tells her he's going to take a quick shower and to make herself at home. She's thankful she brought a small bag of her clothes with, so she changes into sweatpants and a t-shirt from her school. She lays down on the bed and suddenly becomes aware of how exhausted she is. Patrick comes out not long after, wearing his Batman pajamas. Stephanie smiles widely when she sees him. His hair isn't completely dry in front, but the back looks soft and wispy and she has the sudden urge to thread her fingers through it.  
Patrick places his glasses on the table next to his side of the bed and climbs in next to Stephanie. For a while, they just lay there in the silence, listening to each other breathe and looking into each other's eyes. Eventually, Patrick pulls Stephanie to him and he holds her tightly, pressing kisses to her hair every so often.   
“I want you to come on tour with us when you're semester's over,” Patrick says quietly.  
She doesn't give it a second thought before she breathes a yes against his neck. They fall asleep that way, Stephanie's lips pressed against his collarbone, his chin resting on top of her head, and their arms wrapped around each other.


	8. Chapter 8

Hours later, with sunlight streaming into the room through the thin curtains, Stephanie wakes to Patrick pressing soft kisses to her lips, forehead, and cheeks. She smiles into him and opens her grey eyes open to his blue ones. They're warm and deep and bright and Stephanie's pretty sure she could stare into them forever.  
“Good morning,” Stephanie says, leaning in to kiss him.  
“Morning,” Patrick replies and he pulls her close to him.   
Stephanie's head falls back against her pillow when Patrick begins kissing her neck, nipping lightly. She breathes out quickly when she feels him pressing against her thigh. She pulls his lips back up to hers, running her hands up his arms and to his shoulder blades. Patrick stands, removing his pajama pants and grabbing a condom. He moves back to Stephanie, who has already rid herself of her sweatpants. He kisses her softly before he presses in and rests his forehead against hers. They're almost silent with their breathing the only sound in the room. As they get closer, Stephanie lets out a breathy moan, her back arching up, pressing into Patrick's chest. They finish within moments of each other and Stephanie grips Patrick's arms tightly. Patrick holds her as they both come down and when they've recovered, Stephanie kisses him again.  
“Gonna go shower,” Patrick breathes against her hair, “if you'd care to join me.”  
Stephanie smiles against his neck. “That could be arranged,” she chuckles. “I'll be in in a little bit.” Patrick nods and kisses her once more before gathering a change of clothes and heading to the bathroom.  
Stephanie pulls her pants back on for the time being and fumbles in her bag for her phone. She dials Taylor, who answers after what feels like minutes.  
“Oh my god,” she whispers, sounding hysterical.  
“Are you okay?” Stephanie asks, immediately concerned.  
“Okay?” Taylor asks incredulously. “I'm so much better than okay.” She's talking at a normal level now. “Sorry, I didn't want to wake Matt and Andy.”  
“Taylor, oh my god, 'and'?”   
Taylor squeals a little. “I'll tell you all about it later. But I was thinking we could meet up for lunch? Matt has to work on a short film but Andy doesn't have anything to do.”  
“Sounds good,” Stephanie says. “I just wanted to check in and make sure you were doing all right. I'll text you when Patrick gets out of the shower.”  
Taylor agrees and they hang up and Stephanie gets up to join him.

* * *

Via text, they all agree on a restaurant and Andy and Taylor are already there when Patrick and Stephanie walk in. They slide in on the other side of the booth and Taylor has a shit-eating grin on her face that Stephanie half loves and half wants to slap off.   
While Stephanie and Taylor chat almost absentmindedly, Patrick raises his eyebrows at Andy and nods his head toward Taylor. Andy just smiles and nods while he shreds his napkin. Their silent conversation goes unnoticed by the two girls, but honestly, Patrick's glad Andy likes Taylor. They seem like a good fit. The waitress arrives soon after with their food and a few forkfuls in, Taylor pipes up.  
“Have you checked your messages lately? Has the hate been dying down?” she asks Stephanie, genuine concern coloring her face.  
Patrick almost chokes on his sandwich. He sets it back down and takes a drink of water. “Hate?” he asks, looking from Taylor to Stephanie and back.  
Taylor's ears go back like she knows she's in trouble and Stephanie gives her a dirty look before she turns to Patrick. “It's nothing really,” she says, and Taylor scoffs. Stephanie gives Taylor another pointed look. “I've just been getting some messages that, uh, aren't so nice.”  
Patrick's fists are balled and his face is turning red. He sighs heavily. “I really wish you would have told me right away. I know you got messages right after the picture surfaced but I just assumed –” Patrick's shaking his head and Stephanie places a hand on his shoulder.   
“Patrick, it's all right,” Stephanie murmurs. “I just delete them usually.”  
Stephanie's trying to convince him even though she knows she doesn't delete them and she thinks about them way too much. The conversation dies down and all of them go back to their meals, but Patrick barely picks at his. It's slightly awkward when Stephanie and Patrick and Andy and Taylor part ways and when Taylor hugs Stephanie goodbye she tries to tell her how sorry she is, but Stephanie cuts her off, telling her it's fine. How was she supposed to know that Stephanie hadn't told Patrick anything about all the hate?  
The ride back to the hotel is utterly silent and Stephanie can tell that Patrick is really upset – not with her but that she's dealt with this on her own. He's gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles and his jaw is set. Stephanie wants desperately to reach over and hold his hand, to say something to him, but she can't find the courage to do either. When they arrive back at the hotel, Patrick sits on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair. Stephanie stands in the doorway, her throat thick with emotion.  
“Patrick,” she whispers and he shakes his head.   
His head as down and his voice is gruff when he speaks. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?”  
Stephanie searches for an answer. “I – I don't know. I didn't want to bother you –”  
Patrick stands suddenly and paces and Stephanie can practically feel his anger.   
“Patrick, please, just let it go,” she begs and he stops suddenly and then strides over to her.  
He takes his face in her hands, his thumbs brushing away her tears. “I love you, Stephanie, and when I find out that people have been saying awful things about you, I'm gonna get mad.”  
“I – you love me?”  
Patrick lets out a small chuckle and Stephanie smiles slightly, glad to hear him laugh. “I do,” he says, suddenly serious again. “I do love you a lot. From now on, promise me you'll tell me if you get anymore messages?”  
Stephanie nods and Patrick pulls her into a hug. “I love you too,” she breathes against his chest and he just holds her tighter.  
Eventually, they end up in bed again and Stephanie knows he has to leave that evening and she has to head home.   
“I'm gonna miss you like hell,” Patrick says as he tucks a stray piece of hair behind Stephanie's ear.   
“Me too,” she says, leaning into his touch.   
“But I was serious about you joining me on tour when your semester's over.”  
Stephanie nods. “So was I. I can just take a few online courses. It'll be perfect.”  
“Perfect,” Patrick repeats, a smile on his face. “Just like you.”  
Stephanie smiles and kisses him. “You're so damn cheesy.”

* * *

When Patrick has to get back on the bus, he holds her tightly and kisses her over and over again. She tries to stay strong but she can't help it when tears escape her eyes.   
“I love you so much,” Patrick tells her. “We'll skype and call and text and before you know it, your semester will be over and we'll be together again.”  
Stephanie nods. “I love you.”  
They kiss once more before Marcus bellows that they have to leave and he Patrick lets go of Stephanie's hand and climbs up on the bus. Stephanie watches as Andy and Taylor say goodbye. It's much less emotional but she doesn't miss the quick kiss that Andy presses to Taylor's lips. She smiles at him even though her eyes show her sadness. He whispers something to her and she nods and waves as he joins Patrick on the bus.  
Stephanie walks over to Taylor, whose lower lip is quivering slightly. Stephanie laughs through her tears and puts an arm around Taylor. “Aren't we a pair?” she chuckles and Taylor smiles and puts her head on her shoulder.  
After their bus pulls out of the lot, Stephanie checks her phone and sees Patrick tweeted a few hours ago and it makes her heart swell with love for him: “If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. Especially when it comes to my girlfriend.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Come on, babe, you can do this. You know all of your art history forward and back,” Patrick says, watching as Stephanie grows more and more frazzled.  
She sighs and laughs, tightening her hair that sits atop her head in a messy bun. Her glasses are slightly crooked and she’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt that’s had the collar cut off. “I know,” she says, “but there’s so much of it!”  
Patrick’s skype connection glitches for a moment before she can see his reaction. He’s laughing and shaking his head. “You look like such a nerd, you know that, right?”  
Stephanie scoffs, but she can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face. She peers at the small square in the corner of the screen that shows her reflection. “I really do,” she laughs.  
“But don’t worry, you’re a very cute nerd,” he assures her.  
“Well, you don’t look so bad yourself, Stump,” Stephanie replies, glancing up at him as she pages through her history book. He’s wearing a plain t-shirt and his glasses and he looks great despite the tired circles under his eyes from the seemingly endless tour. There’s a smile plastered on his face that Stephanie doesn’t think will ever come off and she loves it. She hoists her book up in front of the camera, holding it so Patrick can see one of the full-page paintings.  
“Pop quiz,” Stephanie giggles. “Know the name or the artist?”  
Patrick laughs. “Yeah, right,” he says. “That’s your department!”  
Stephanie winks at him and puts the book back down and closes it. “Just three days of finals this week.”  
“And then you can come here and climb in my bunk and let me show you how much I missed you,” Patrick finished.  
Stephanie can’t help the blush that spreads over her face and she drops her eyes back to her book, reopening it. “You’re a terrible influence,” she says.  
Patrick holds up his hands as if pleading his innocence. “Hey,” he chuckles, “you’re the one who said, ‘Oh, Patrick, will you get on skype and help me study?’” His voice gets high as he mimics Stephanie and she’s trying desperately not to laugh and she’s failing terribly.  
“I do not sound like that,” she chokes out in between her laughs.  
“You’re right,” Patrick concedes. “You sound much cuter.”  
“Shut up!” Stephanie says, narrowing her eyes at him. “Now, I’m serious, you need to help me study!”  
“What do you want me to do?” Patrick laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling.  
Stephanie shrugs and just rolls her eyes as she tries to focus on her textbook. Suddenly, her phone rings and she almost growls, to Patrick’s amusement.  
Patrick starts making ridiculous faces into the camera, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes. Stephanie just shakes her head as she answers the phone.  
“Hello? Hey, Mom.” Stephanie gets up to pace around as she talks.  
Patrick tries to be quiet but he can’t help that he’s running on little to no sleep and that he’s overly giggly. He continues making strange faces, and as Stephanie talks to her mom, he gets closer and closer to the camera until he’s pressing his nose up against it and Stephanie snorts when she looks back at her computer.  
“Babe. Babe. Babe. Stephanie. Babe. Steph. Babe.”  
“Shut up!” Stephanie hisses, holding the phone away from her ear for a moment. She grabs a blanket off her bed and throws it over her laptop.  
The speakers on Stephanie’s laptop positively rattle with Patrick’s resulting “Baaaaaaabe!” and she can’t help but laugh.  
On the other end of the phone, Stephanie’s mom is trying to understand why she got a letter in the mail saying that Stephanie transferred to all online classes for next semester.  
“I don’t understand why you’re laughing, Stephanie,” her mother says, her tone implying that she’s getting upset. “Why are you taking online classes?”  
Stephanie sits back down in front of her computer and pulls the blanket off it to reveal Patrick’s face inches away from the screen as he strains to hear the conversation. She’s fishing for ways to explain her transfer because she hasn’t told her parents about Patrick at all.  
“Uh, well, um…,” Stephanie mutters into the phone as she tilts her head to keep it trapped between her shoulder and her ear. She types a message to Patrick, telling him what her mom is asking about.  
“Are you even listening to me?” her mom asks in irritation.  
“Yes, Mom, I’m listening. I was in the middle of studying for finals.”  
“Oh,” her mom’s tone softens. “Well, just tell me why you’re taking online classes next semester and you can get back to studying.”  
Patrick’s response to her message is quick and to the point. “Tell her,” he says quietly so Stephanie’s mom can’t hear him.  
Stephanie takes a deep breath. “Mom, I have to tell you something.  
“What? Are you okay?” her mom asks urgently.  
“Yes, I’m fine, but um, well…”  
“Are you telling her? Babe. Babe! Babe, are you gonna tell her?” Patrick asks frantically as Stephanie shushes him.  
“Mom, um, I’m seeing someone.”  
“Oh, yeah, you’re telling her.”  
“Um, you know Fall Out Boy? That band I really love? Yeah, the lead singer, Patrick?”  
“Oh, you’re not half-assing this, are ya? You’re really tellin’ her.”  
Stephanie shoots him a glance and he shuts up but he’s listening hard and trying to gauge Stephanie’s mom’s reaction. Stephanie’s face falls in annoyance and she bites the inside of her cheek. “I’m not joking, Mom. We’re dating!”  
Patrick slaps a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh, and if looks could kill, Patrick would probably have died at that moment. She picks up the blanket and throws it back over the laptop, shooting Patrick a final look. She can just make out his outline through the thin blanket and it looks like he’s moving around, trying to get as close as he can so he can hear their conversation.  
“Well, I want to meet him, then!” Stephanie’s mom says excitedly. “You can just hide him away from me!”  
“I’m not hiding him away, Mom. He can’t meet you until he gets off tour!”  
Stephanie almost loses it when she hears Patrick, muffled by the blanket. “Shit, am I meeting your parents?”  
She manages to ignore him and not burst out laughing and she spends a little while longer on the phone with her mother before she tells he that she really does have to study. When she goes back to her computer and pulls the blanket off, Patrick isn’t there, just his empty bunk.  
“Patrick, what the hell?” Stephanie says, brows furrowed.  
There’s movement in the corner of the screen and Stephanie peers at it. Slowly, Patrick slides onscreen, looking scared.  
“Do I have to meet your parents?” he asks timidly.  
Stephanie rolls her eyes. “Well, yeah, eventually!”  
Patrick swallows nervously. “How tall is your dad?”  
Stephanie can’t help but let out a small laugh. “Five foot five.”  
Patrick sighs. “Okay, I feel better.”  
“You, Patrick Stump, are ridiculous,” Stephanie laughs.  
* * *  
Finally. Stephanie’s semester is over and now all she has to worry about is how many pairs of socks to pack. On her way back to her apartment, she texts Patrick, telling him that she’s finally done. He still hasn’t texted her back by the time she gets home, which is slightly unusual. He’s typically pretty good at replying, but he might have had an interview or something. They have two days off between shows so he might have slept in. She unlocks the door to her apartment, dropping her bag just inside the door. She makes her way to the kitchen and stops dead in her tracks when she sees two figures on the couch instead of one.  
Meaghan rolls her eyes when she sees Stephanie stop. “He came over and decided to make himself at home.”  
Patrick is sitting on the couch next to Meaghan, smiling serenely like he knows he’s irritating her. Stephanie lets out something between a laugh and a shout and practically runs over to Patrick. She jumps up on his lap and presses her lips to his.  
“Oh my god!” Meaghan yells, throwing up her arms and heading toward her room. “Warn a girl, would ya?”  
Stephanie chuckles against Patrick’s lips and his arms wrap around her back and he pulls her closer. When they break apart Stephanie moves to sit next to him.  
“You’re here,” she says and she can’t stop smiling.  
“I’m here,” he says, leaning in to kiss her again. “And you’re done with classes, so I say we do a little celebrating and tomorrow we can meet up with the tour.”  
“Sounds like a plan,” Stephanie smiles. “Now, I believe you said something about celebrating…”


	10. Chapter 10

Stephanie has never been so grateful for a hotel night. The accelerated online course she's taking is almost over and she has a twelve-page research paper due in two days. She's about three-quarters of the way done with it, but she's stuck on it and is getting more and more frustrated by the minute. It's one in the morning and she's typing on her laptop, staring at the screen with tired eyes, the tiny lamp on the text casting a yellow glow on everything.   
“Stephanie,” Patrick's hoarse voice comes from the bed. He's supposed to be on vocal rest and Stephanie knows it.  
“Patrick,” she says warningly. She doesn't even turn around to look at him lying on the bed.   
“Babe, please come to bed,” he insists and she can hear him patting the space next to him. “You're going to make yourself sick.”  
“Doesn't matter,” Stephanie sighs. “I have to get this done and I won't be able to concentrate tomorrow night on the bus.”  
“Steph, it'll get done. Please just come here and take a break.”  
Stephanie nearly growls and puts her head in her hands. “Can you please just go to sleep, Patrick? I really need to work on this.”  
Stephanie's concentration is now broken and she feels a little bad, but she's mostly just irritated. Patrick knows that she's busy so why can't he just let her work?  
“Stephanie,” he says after a while, “come to bed.”  
Stephanie spins around in her chair, glaring at Patrick. “Can you stop being nice and caring for just a few hours?” She throws her arms up in annoyance. “I know you're just looking out for me, like always, but it's really not necessary right now when I need to concentrate and finish this goddamn research paper!”  
Patrick's face falls and the ensuing silence is overwhelming. Stephanie immediately feels awful for talking to him like that, but she has to get this paper done. She turns back to her computer and she hears Patrick turn and pull the covers over his body. She looks back at him once more, watches the rise and fall of his chest, and sighs, starting to type again.

Later that morning, at around seven, Stephanie slides into bed next to Patrick, exhausted. When he wakes half an hour later, Stephanie is sprawled out next to him, practically dead to the world. Any other time, he would have leaned over and kissed her forehead, but he's hurt, and admittedly a little petty. He loves Stephanie with all his heart and he knows she only said the things she did out of frustration and exhaustion, but they still hurt. He always did the best he could to be positive and caring, and he thought it was a good thing. Now he was second guessing himself – was he too nice? Did he come off as irritating? He hoped not, but now he just didn't know.  
Lobby call was at ten and Patrick wakes Stephanie up at quarter to. They pack their things in silence and Stephanie feels practically dead to the world. She can barely function through her exhaustion, but her paper was done and that was what mattered. The elevator ride down to the lobby verges on awkward, the silence suffocating.   
Pete notices immediately the tension between Stephanie and Patrick. As everyone begins loading their things onto the bus Pete raises an eyebrow at Patrick, who just shakes his head as if to say “not now.” Pete respects that. For about a half hour. Once they are pulling out of the hotel's parking lot, Pete speaks up.  
“Hey, Patrick, I've got some lyrics I want your opinion on,” he says, heading toward the back lounge that is momentarily empty.   
Patrick has no choice but to get up and follow him even though he knows precisely what Pete is doing. He closes the door behind him and Pete is there to ambush him immediately.   
“What's going on, Patrick? Are you and Stephanie okay?”  
Patrick rolls his eyes. “We're fine. She was just frustrated last night. She was working on a paper and I wouldn't leave her a lone and she snapped at me and said I'm too nice.”  
Pete nods, thinking. “She probably feels bad already,” he says.  
Patrick shrugs. “Do you mind if I try and get some sleep? I barely slept last night.” Patrick isn't trying to get out of talking to Pete, but there isn't much more to say and he really hadn't slept much. He'd spent most of the night thinking and trying to sleep rather than actually doing so.  
“Sure,” Pete says, leaving Patrick to it. He goes back to the front of the bus and sits next to Stephanie, who looks absolutely exhausted. “You should go talk to him,” Pete says quiet enough for only Stephanie to hear. She looks at him, a little surprised. She isn't about to let his charm get the better of her, though.   
“He's a big boy, Pete, he'll get over it.”  
Pete looks taken aback but doesn't push the subject. Soon Stephanie is passed out on one of the couches while Pete, Joe, and Andy discuss any changes to tonight's setlist. They arrive at the venue several hours later and Stephanie rubs her bleary eyes. When she takes her hands away from her face, Patrick is there and part of her wants to say something to him, but the other part of her – the extraordinarily stubborn part – tells her not to so she doesn't. She just gets up off the couch and stretches, grabbing her bag and following Joe off the bus.   
Instantly, Patrick feels angry. All he was doing was trying to help Stephanie, look out for her well-being, and this is how she's repaying him? Grumbling to himself, he and Pete go into the venue, followed by Andy, and they all get settled in to their dressing room. The radio station sponsoring the show is scheduled to come and do an interview with them in forty-five minutes. Patrick is just about to ask Stephanie if they can talk when her phone rings.   
“Hey,” she answers and within in seconds her face lights up.  
“I got the job in Chicago!” Taylor yells on the other end.   
“Are you serious?” Stephanie asks excitedly. “I'm so happy for you!”  
“You know what that means,” Taylor says and Stephanie can hear her jumping up and down.  
“We can finally get a place together!”  
“Exactly!”  
“I'm so excited, oh my god!” Stephanie laughs. They talk for a few minutes more before Stephanie assures her that they can work out the details later.  
Stephanie doesn't miss Patrick halt whatever he's doing when she talks about getting a place with Taylor. She ignores him, though, until she hangs up the phone.  
“What was that about?” Patrick says, sounding almost disinterested.  
Stephanie eyes him for a moment before answering. “Taylor got the job she wanted in Chicago.”  
“So you're moving in with her?” Patrick asks and Stephanie can see him growing irritated.  
“Yes,” Stephanie says matter-of-factly. “We'd always planned to.”  
Patrick says nothing for a moment. “Soon?” he finally asks, avoiding Stephanie's eyes.  
“Yes,” Stephanie says slowly, growing more and more frustrated by his questioning.  
The guys are now trying to appear busy in the background even though they're all listening to what is quickly becoming a fight. Andy's got his practice pad out, Pete's scrolling through his phone, and Joe is messing around with one of his guitars.  
“So, what?” Patrick says, now meeting Stephanie's eyes dead on. “You enrolled in online classes so you could come on tour with me and now you're just gonna leave?”  
Now Stephanie's angry and she is determined to let him know. She forgets about the fact that Pete, Andy, and Joe are all in the room, listening even though they don't want to, and gets loud. “My life isn't gonna stop for you! I can't live on a tour bus with you! That's not me, and Taylor and I have been planning to get a place together in Chicago for a long time. Now the opportunity is here and you're gonna guilt trip me?”  
Patrick lets out a spiteful laugh. “I'm guilt tripping you now? I'm bringing up the fact that you changed all your classes to online courses so you could be with me. And now you're leaving.”  
“You're being ridiculous,” Stephanie says bluntly and Patrick seems to snap.   
He stands suddenly, throwing his arms up. “I can't do this right now.” He storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him and Stephanie is left on the couch with Pete, Andy, and Joe staring at her. She sits there for a moment, stunned that Patrick would actually get up and walk out on her. Pete clears his throat and Stephanie takes one glance at him before leaving the room herself. Before she gets outside the venue, she's crying and she doesn't even know why. She's the one who's upset with Patrick so why does she miss him already? She thinks about going back to the bus but decides she just needs to take a walk to clear her head. She ignores the excited murmurs from some of the girls already lined up. People know her face and there's nothing she can do except walk faster, try to put more distance between her and them.  
The more Stephanie walks, the more she knows that she should have just apologized. She's still upset that Patrick doesn't get the whole Chicago thing with Taylor, but she can understand why he feels the way he does. He doesn't have the luxury of just stopping by her place whenever he feels like. He's a celebrity, and a busy one at that, and he has commitments because of that. She knows it'll be hard, but he does have family in Chicago, so he's there more often than he'd be in Michigan. Stephanie finds a bench and sits, unable to remember what city they're even in right now. It looks the same as any other city she's ever seen and she knows that she's not cut out for constant touring. She'd miss home, miss her family and her friends, and it would all just be too much. Even with her living in Chicago and Patrick on tour, she thinks they can make it work – so many other couples do. She loves Patrick and she knows he loves her and shouldn't that be enough?  
After sitting a while longer, she decides to head back. It takes her about fifteen minutes and she decides to check the bus before she goes back into the venue. Sure enough, Patrick is there, sitting on the couch, doing something on his phone. He doesn't look up when Stephanie walks in and he still doesn't move when she sits next to him.  
“Can we talk?” she asks hesitantly, quietly.  
Patrick is silent for a moment. “I've got things to do, Stephanie. We have interviews and sound check.” And with that, Patrick gets up and leaves the bus, leaving Stephanie once again. This time, it hurts infinitely more and she can't help but feel that she's royally fucked up this time.


	11. Chapter 11

Stephanie remains seated for a few minutes, but with each second that passes, the silence and the emptiness consume her more and more and she can't sit on the vacant bus anymore. Suddenly, she's opening the door and the cool summer air hits her and she breathes deeply as she walks as quickly as she can, away from the venue, away from the bus, away from Patrick. She just walks and keeps walking until she realizes she's hungry. She stops at the first cafe she sees and sits in a booth and orders tea and a sandwich. The cafe is empty apart from a man sitting in the corner booth reading the paper intently. When Stephanie's finished with her food, she pulls out a small sketch pad from her bag and begins drawing, absentmindedly. Nothing really comes of it – neither her heart nor her mind are in the proper place – but she keeps up with it anyway.   
By now, it's getting late and the show is probably near over. Stephanie figures she should text Taylor.  
“I can't live with you in Chicago.”   
That's it. Done. Sent.   
When Taylor texts her back, she shuts off her phone. Stephanie knows Taylor's going to be worried, but she can't find it in herself to regale what's going on with her and Patrick. Stephanie orders another tea and sips it slowly while watching people pass by on the street.

Patrick comes offstage sweaty as ever and makes a beeline for the dressing room. Part of him hopes Stephanie will be in there, working on something on her computer or drawing, but she isn't, and he doesn't really worry. He figures she's just on the bus where he left her, and at that thought, he feels slightly guilty. He'd walked out on her twice today, but he hopes they can try and work it out tonight. Things had just been blown out of proportion, that was all. It would be a quick, easy fix.  
Shaking the worry from his mind, Patrick grabs a change of clothes and heads to the showers. When he returns, Andy is there, holding out Patrick's phone.   
“The thing's been ringing nonstop,” Andy tells him and Patrick takes it, slightly confused.  
He looks at his missed calls and they're all from Taylor. “I think your girlfriend's got the wrong number,” Patrick tells Andy, who just shrugs.  
Patrick dials Taylor's number and she picks up midway through the first ring.  
“Patrick, thank god!” Taylor sighs, her voice shaky.  
“Taylor, what's up?”  
“Where is Stephanie? She sent me a text saying she can't live with me in Chicago and now she's not answering my calls or texts.”  
“I, well, I mean, I'm not sure, but I left her on the bus earlier,” Patrick stammers, a panic settling over him. “When did she text you?”  
“Like three hours ago, Patrick. I'm really worried. What's going on?”  
“I'll call you back,” Patrick says and hangs up. Before Andy can say anything, Patrick is tearing out of the dressing room and out the back door, ignoring the fans that are already lined up by the bus. He throws open the door to the bus and scours every bunk, couch, and the back lounge. No Stephanie. He realizes her bag is gone, but there's no note, nothing saying where she's gone or how long it's been since she left.   
Andy shows up minutes later, just hanging up from a call with Taylor, who filled him in on everything. Patrick is sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, gripping his hair in his fingers. Andy sits down next to him and puts a hand on his back.  
“We're gonna find her, Patrick,” Andy says softly.   
Patrick scoffs and when he speaks, his voice is thick. “I fucked up.”  
“Everybody does. It's gonna be okay. We'll find her.”  
Patrick takes little comfort in Andy's words. All he can think about is where Stephanie is and if she's okay. The amount of guilt he feels is overwhelming but he doesn't know what to do, especially if Stephanie isn't answering her phone.

Pete doesn't know that Stephanie's gone missing yet, and with his phone on silent in his back pocket, he probably won't for a while. He's walking through the city in search of coffee and he keeps walking until he finds a corner cafe that promises the best coffee in the city. He's doubtful, but he's also tired. He walks in and goes up to the counter and orders a cup and the waitress gives him a warm smile. She slides his cup of coffee across the counter to him and he thanks her before taking a sip. He spins in his seat, looking at a man in the corner booth reading a paper. Behind him and just to his left is a girl sitting alone in a booth with fiery red hair.   
Pete gawks for a moment, but Stephanie doesn't notice him. He gets up and slides in across from Stephanie. She looks up, shocked, and puts her tea down.  
She opens her mouth to say something, but he's quicker. “What the hell are you doing?” he asks.  
Pete doesn't miss the sad look in her eyes before she puts on a brave face. “I just needed some air,” she says quietly.  
“Does Patrick know?”   
“I doubt Patrick cares.”  
Pete gives her a reproving look. “Just because you're fighting doesn't mean he's stopped caring about you.”  
“I just needed some time, Pete. I'll be back before the bus leaves, I promise. Just. . . I just need to be alone for now.”  
Pete shakes his head. “I get that, but you should at least let Patrick know where you are. He's probably worried out of his mind.” He takes one last sip of his coffee before placing a ten dollar bill on the table for the waitress.   
“Promise you won't tell anyone?” Stephanie pleads as Pete gets up.   
He stops for a moment and chews on his lower lip.   
“Please, Pete.”  
He sighs. “Fine, but you had better be back in time for the bus. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

When Pete arrives back at the bus, he waves to the waiting fans. He goes inside and finds Patrick, Andy, and Joe looking worried. Patrick looks absolutely awful, though. He's practically frantic and he looks up hopefully when Pete comes in. Pete chews on his lip again before deciding to do the right thing.  
“I know where she is,” he says and Patrick looks like he might cry.  
Suddenly, Pete's got a Patrick in his lap, and he's hugging him. “Tell me,” he says brokenly, and Pete does.

A group of girls comes into the cafe and Stephanie looks up when they pass her. They're all wearing Fall Out Boy merch and she can't help but smile a little. She knows the feeling. They look pretty tired but also like they've just seen the concert of their lives. They sit down at a booth three down from Stephanie. A few minutes pass and one of them comes up next to Stephanie.  
“Hi,” Stephanie says, a little taken aback.  
“You're Stephanie, right?” the girl asks. She can't be older than fifteen or sixteen and she looks nervous.  
“Yeah. What can I do for you?”  
“Well, I just wanted to say that I've followed you on tumblr for almost a year and I really miss you on there. A lot of us do. Also, I know it's not really my place to ask, but do you think you'd be able to tell Patrick and the guys that the show as really great?”  
Stephanie can't help but smile. “Yeah, I think I could manage that. Thanks a lot!”  
“You're welcome,” the girl says. “Well, that was all, I guess. Thanks!”  
Stephanie nods and the girl goes back to her friends, who all squeal excitedly. Stephanie feels a little better, knowing that not everyone hates her guts and that some people actually miss her. It feels good.

By the time Patrick makes it to the cafe, there's half an hour until the bus is scheduled to leave, and he's breathless from practically jogging the entire way. He tries to catch his breath as he opens the door to the cafe Pete told him about. He spots Stephanie immediately and now that he sees her, his worries are at ease. Until he realizes they they're fighting and things have to be worked out. He doesn't even notice the girls in the booth down from Stephanie's, despite their excited, hushed whispers. Stephanie looks up and sees Patrick and she isn't sure of what to do. Her expression is blank as Patrick slides into the booth.  
“Patrick,” Stephanie breathes when she looks into his worried eyes.  
“You can live with Taylor,” Patrick says suddenly.   
“I – what?”  
“I want you to live with her. I don't want to hold you back.”  
Stephanie's heart sinks. “You're not holding me back. It makes me sad that you feel like you are. Patrick, I love you. I love being with you. Things were blown way out of proportion, but one thing that hasn't changed is how much I love you.”  
Patrick reaches for Stephanie's hand and his thumb rubs circles on it. “I love you so much. Promise me one thing,” he says, almost desperately. Stephanie waits for his request. “Don't ever just leave like that. I was going crazy, not knowing where you were in an unfamiliar city and your phone shut off. Don't ever do that to me again.”  
Stephanie nods, a few tears escaping. “Promise,” she says almost silently.  
“Come here,” Patrick says, and Stephanie moves in next to him and holds her to him, resting his chin on the top of her head.  
“I'm sorry,” Stephanie says into his chest and his hand runs through her hair.  
“I'm just glad you're okay.”


	12. Chapter 12

They arrive in the next city early the next morning and it's a much-needed day off and a hotel night. Andy had gone running early in the morning, and both Pete and Joe had friends in the city, so Stephanie and Patrick were left to sleep in. They had spent a while longer in the cafe last night, talking and working through things. They got back to the bus with just a few minutes to spare and Stephanie didn't miss the smile on Pete's face. She couldn't even be angry with him for telling Patrick her whereabouts – in fact, she was pretty happy that he did, otherwise they probably wouldn't have worked things out yet. Patrick had led Stephanie to the back lounge, where they'd collapsed onto the bed and Patrick had held her close, held her tight, whispering on occasion how much he loved her. Right before she'd fallen asleep, he'd been humming Life on Mars against her neck.  
When Patrick wakes up, Stephanie is still in his arms, and he kisses her shoulder. She stirs but doesn't quite wake, so he kisses her neck. He can feel her smile and she turns over to look into his eyes.  
“Morning,” he says, kissing her forehead.  
“Mm.”   
“We should go to. . .,” Patrick pauses, checking his phone for the time, “lunch.”  
“Gimme a minute,” Stephanie slurs, still half asleep. Patrick chuckles at her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.   
Patrick gets up and changes. He's pulling on his shoes when Stephanie finally gets up. Patrick leans into kiss her quickly before he leaves the room to give her some space. She comes out into the front of the bus ten minutes later and Patrick asks if she's ready. She nods and they leave the bus, searching for somewhere to eat. They decide on a Denny's because it's the only thing that looks familiar and they're both in the mood for familiarity.  
“I'm really sorry about yesterday,” Stephanie says, looking up at Patrick through her eyelashes.  
Patrick reaches across the table and takes Stephanie's hand. “Everything's fine, Steph. We both messed up, but there's no need to keep apologizing.”  
Stephanie nods, squeezing Patrick's hand. “I love you. A lot.”  
Patrick smiles warmly at her, his eyes crinkling. “I love you a lot, too. I was thinking that, after this, we could head to the hotel early, maybe find something to do there. . .”  
“Oh, were you now?” Stephanie laughs at Patrick's poor attempt of being seductive.  
“Hey, give me a little credit, here. I just woke up!”  
“And you wanna go right back to bed,” Stephanie observes.  
“Don't act like you don't.”  
Stephanie doesn't say anything, just blushes and plays with the straw in her drink.   
Their meals arrive and they eat in relative silence, both of them realizing just how hungry they are. When they finish, Patrick pays the bill and they walk out of the restaurant hand-in-hand, and as they walk, Stephanie rests her head against Patrick's shoulder. He lets go of her hand and puts his arm around her instead and they walk that way, somewhat awkwardly until they find a good rhythm. They reach the hotel fairly quickly and Patrick checks them in and receives two key cards, one of which he gives to Stephanie. The ride up to the third floor feels like in takes forever and Patrick has his hand on Stephanie's waist, holding her more tightly than entirely necessary.  
By the time they get to the door of their room, Patrick can barely swipe the card because he doesn't want to let go of Stephanie. They go spilling into the room, Patrick closing the door quickly behind them, making sure to lock it just in case any curious Wentzes come calling.   
Stephanie's waiting by the bed and Patrick comes over to her, pushing her sweater off her shoulders and pressing his lips to the side of her neck, sucking lightly at her throat.   
“Patrick,” she hisses, pushing at him and the two of them rid themselves of their clothing. They land somewhere in the middle of the bed and for a while, Patrick spends his time kissing every inch of Stephanie's body.  
Stephanie is panting by the time Patrick's finished and he moves back up and Stephanie kisses him hard.   
“I love you,” Patrick breathes.   
Stephanie arches into him as he finds a pace. “I love you too.” She's suddenly struck by how much she really does love this man, and it's not just because he's making her feel so good. He's so dedicated, so caring and loving, and he's pretty much all she's ever wanted.   
Patrick rests his forehead against Stephanie's shoulder as it all becomes too much. He stops and they both reach their peaks together, breathing heavily and holding onto one another. Patrick rolls off Stephanie some time later, but she doesn't let him go too far.   
They're both laying on their backs and Patrick turns his head to look at her. “You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.”  
Stephanie can't help the tears that almost immediately spring into her eyes. She turns to look at Patrick. “Sometimes I wake up and I wonder if this is all a dream,” she tells him. “I can't believe I got this lucky.”  
“I think we both got pretty lucky,” Patrick says, kissing her. He pulls the sheet over them and they fall asleep that way.  
When they wake, it's only two hours later, but there's someone outside the door, knocking incessantly.  
“The hell. . .,” Patrick mumbles, getting up and pulling on his underwear and pants. He looks through the peephole and rolls his eyes.  
“What do you want, Pete?” he asks tiredly, opening the door halfway.  
“Patrick?” Stephanie calls from the bedroom. “Who is it?”  
“I'm bored, Patrick,” Pete whines. “Joe left me.”  
“Go entertain yourself, Pete, I'm spending the day with Stephanie. I don't have time to babysit.”  
Pete's lower lips juts out and he gives Patrick his best puppy dog eyes. “Can't I just come hang out for an hour? Have mercy on me!”  
“Pete –” Patrick starts, but Stephanie comes toward the door, fully dressed.  
She raises her eyebrow at Pete, who ceases giving Patrick his most pitiful look. “Are you trying to steal my boyfriend?” Stephanie asks, placing a hand on her hip.  
“I, uh, no?” Pete stutters.  
“Good answer. Now leave so we can have sex again.”  
Pete's eyes go wide and Patrick splutter before he starts laughing. Pete puts his hands up and backs out into the hallways. “Don't break my singer!” Pete calls before Stephanie leans forward and shuts the door.  
“Were you serious?” Patrick asked, looking at Stephanie with something that might have been awe.  
She shrugs, smirking at Patrick as she sheds her clothes on the way to the bathroom.  
“Care to join me for a shower?” she asks before disappearing into the bathroom and shutting the door.  
“Oh my god,” Patrick says out loud, running a hand through his hair, and following Stephanie into the bathroom.  
So he was a little out of his mind for this girl, but he'd probably already known that. She was spectacular in so many ways and she challenged him, was a little shy (on occasion), and Patrick got a little tongue-tied when he considered how gorgeous she was. He was happier than he'd been in a long time and it was all thanks to Stephanie.


	13. Chapter 13

Before he joins Stephanie in the shower, he makes a few quick calls, setting up a reservation for dinner at a high-end restaurant in the city. He realizes he and Stephanie haven't exactly been on any actual dates, or ones that ended well, anyway. He hangs up the phone and smiles on his way to the bathroom because Stephanie is worth so much and he loves her even more.  
“You're going to ruin me, woman,” Patrick huffs, sitting on the edge of the bed while Stephanie dries her hair with a towel.  
“That's the goal,” she teases, pulling on one of the puffy and white hotel robes.  
“Come here,” Patrick says quietly and Stephanie pads over to him barefoot. He grabs her hips, his thumbs rubbing circles into her skin. He leans his forehead against her midsection and she smiles down at him, running her fingers through his short, damp hair. “I'm taking you out tonight,” he says, sitting up and pulling Stephanie down to sit next to him. “We're gonna go on a real date and it's going to be perfect, I promise.”  
Stephanie smiles at him softly. “I love you.”  
“I love you,” he replies. “The reservations are for five, so budget your time accordingly.” He's taken on an authoritative air and Stephanie just rolls her eyes.   
“Are you going somewhere?” Stephanie asks, watching as Patrick gathers up a few things and begins heading for the door.  
“Well, I figured I'd give you some space, and I thought I'd better check on Pete because, well, he's Pete.”  
“Good enough reason for me,” Stephanie laughs, kissing Patrick quickly before he leaves.   
She spends the next hour and a half trying to find something to wear. She didn't bring too many dressy clothes with her, thinking there wouldn't be much need for it. Despite her limited options, she spends the time fretting over her hair and shoes and how wrinkled her shirt is. Finally, she decides on a deep blue blouse and black dress pants. She styles her hair up and applies her makeup. She's just stepping out of the bathroom when Patrick lets himself into the room.  
“Hey, I'm just about ready,” she says, not looking up from slipping her shoes on. When she does look up at Patrick, she's worried for a second. “Are you okay?”   
Patrick is standing in the doorway of the bedroom, frozen, mouth hanging open just slightly. “Stephanie, you look stunning.”  
“Shut up,” she says quietly, blushing fiercely. “You don't look so bad yourself.”  
Patrick's wearing a grey button-up with a black blazer and black dress pants. He looks dignified and, well, handsome. He just rolls his eyes and takes Stephanie's hand and leads her out the door.   
“Unfortunately, we have to take a cab. I know it's not really romantic -”  
“It's just fine,” Stephanie laughs. “Though a private jet would have been nice...” Patrick gapes at her before she elbows him. “I'm kidding!”  
By the time they get to the restaurant, the evening has cooled down a bit. There's a light breeze when they get out of the cab and it feels soothing on Stephanie's skin. She follows Patrick into the restaurant, where he gives his reservation name and the hostess leads them to the back of the restaurant to a table for two. The lighting is dim and that combined with the red accents give the place a warm feel that Stephanie loves. The hostess hands them each a menu, takes their drink order, and tells them that their waitress will be with them soon. Stephanie and Patrick make small talk until their waitress comes and takes their orders.  
“This is perfect, Patrick, thank you,” Stephanie says, watching Patrick's eyes scan the room.  
“I figured it was the least I could do, you know, us never having a proper date and all,” Patrick smiled, ducking his head. He reaches across the small circular table and takes Stephanie's hand. “It might be the last time we see each other for a little while, with Chicago being the next stop.”  
Stephanie had almost forgotten that she would be moving in with Taylor in less than a week. It wasn't that she didn't want to – of course she did – but she didn't particularly enjoy the fact that she'd be apart from Patrick for so long. He'd only have a week at home after this tour before they started a European tour.  
Upon seeing Stephanie's face fall, Patrick searched for words. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put a damper on things, I just – I – I'm an idiot.”  
“It's okay,” Stephanie assured him. She sort of wished he hadn't brought it up, but there was no use dwelling on it either. “We'll just have to make it count, won't we?”  
“That we will,” Patrick smiled, squeezing Stephanie's hand.  
Their food came shortly thereafter and Stephanie was pretty sure she was in heaven with how delicious it was. Patrick seemed to feel the same way, judging by the “oh my god” after the first bite.  
Once they're finished eating, they decide to have a glass of wine, and Stephanie moves her chair over so she can sit next to Patrick, occasionally leaning her head on his shoulder. He kisses the top of her head before saying, “Let's get out of here, huh?” Stephanie nods and Patrick pays the bill and hails a cab back to their hotel.

They spend the rest of the evening lying in bed, Patrick's arm around Stephanie as they watch crappy made-for-TV movies. He tilts Stephanie's chin up every once in a while so he can softly press his lips to hers. They order room service at two in the morning and eat pizza on the bed, wrapped in the sheets and each other. Eventually, Stephanie falls asleep on Patrick's chest, her lips just barely touching his bare skin. He leans down and kisses the top of her head before drifting off himself.  
The next morning, Stephanie wakes up bathed in sunlight. The white sheets around her are warm and comfortable, but neither as warm nor as comfortable as the pale arms around her.  
“Morning,” Patrick murmurs, running a hand through Stephanie's hair and kissing her forehead.  
“Mm.” Stephanie scoots closer to Patrick, kissing his shoulder, her eyes still shut.  
“I have to get up soon,” Patrick says softly. “We have a lot of interviews today. Do you wanna come with?”  
“Yeah, sure,” Stephanie says, smiling against Patrick's neck. She's still half-asleep and completely blissed out.   
Patrick runs a hand up and down Stephanie's back. He gasps when Stephanie sneaks a hand under the covers to rub him, but before much else can happen, there's a knock at the door.  
“I swear to god if that's Pete, he is the world's greatest cock block.”  
Stephanie laughs and shrugs on her robe and sits up on the bed while Patrick goes to answer the door.   
“It was just Marcus,” Patrick says, coming back into the bedroom, running a hand through his hair. “We have to be in the lobby in an hour.”  
Stephanie shrugs. “We've got time.”

The interviews go well, and fairly quickly, which Patrick is thankful for because all he wants to do is be with Stephanie, hold her, talk to her, anything. He knows their time is limited and while he'll be able to see her for a week after tour, it still sucks that she'll be leaving soon. Pete's sulking around because Patrick has eyes only for Stephanie and Meagan can't join them on tour. Joe and Andy are always doing their own thing and Pete doesn't like be alone. Patrick just pats him on the back in passing and Pete rolls his eyes.  
At soundcheck, Patrick is easily distracted and Joe tells him to stop wearing his ass as a hat, and that makes Patrick pay attention. He doesn't miss the fact that Stephanie's sidestage laughing her ass off either and he makes a mental note to pay her back for that.  
Stephanie sits with Patrick while he's doing warm-ups and he serenades her with love songs. She can't stop smiling, which feels weird because she's leaving soon, but she's genuinely enjoying herself. Things are going really well for them and it seems like smiling is just her default expression now. Patrick even takes her in his arms while he's singing “Fast Car” and slow-dances with her around the room. She's giggling, resting her head on his shoulder while he leads her in circles and arcs. When he starts singing “Life on Mars” she loses it and starts crying. He freaks out for a second but she assures him they're nothing but happy tears.  
Stephanie lets out a laugh when he's done. “I love you,” she says through her tears, which can't seem to stop flowing.  
He grabs her and holds her tight to him. “I love you. More than anything.”  
A few minutes later, they have to go on, so Stephanie follows him backstage and kisses him quickly. She stands by Diaz and Marcus and watches as they open with “The Phoenix” and Patrick's strutting around, commanding the crowd, and for what feels like the millionth time that day, she's struck by how much love she feels for this man. She doesn't want to leave, but she knows that they'll make it through just fine.


	14. Chapter 14

“No. Absolutely not!”  
“Come on, Steph, it's gorgeous!”  
Stephanie and Taylor are standing in the living room of what Taylor believes to be an absolutely stunning apartment, their realtor watching them nervously, her eyes wide.  
“If I may point out,” she says, showing Stephanie the specs on her clipboard, “it's the newest place you've looked at and you'll find the rent is very reasonable. Honestly, I can't believe it's still on the market.”  
Stephanie nods and turns away, tongue in cheek as she mulls over the information. She does have to admit it's not half bad but Taylor's trying to lay claim to the larger bedroom with the attached bathroom and the carpet in the living room in ugly.  
“It's really not that bad, Stephanie,” Taylor says almost pleadingly.   
“No,” Stephanie allows, “but it's not 'gorgeous'. And how come you get the bigger room?”  
Taylor's face lights up. “Does that mean you want it?”  
“I didn't say that!” Stephanie cries but Taylor's already hugging her and jumping up and down.  
“You didn't have to! This is gonna be awesome! Now go call Patrick and tell him while I get started on paperwork.”  
Stephanie rolls her eyes but she does have to say, the place is nice. Patrick will be happy with it, too. She dials his number, walking back through the bedrooms and further inspecting the walls and windows and ceiling. He picks up on the third ring and Stephanie immediately smiles when she hears his voice.  
“Hey, babe,” he says and Stephanie can hear how happy he is.  
“Well, we did it,” she says.  
“You found a place? That's great! What's it look like?”   
“It's kinda small,” Stephanie says, trying to see it objectively. “But it's definitely the nicest place we've seen so far. And the rent is really good. It's really growing on me, honestly. But don't tell Taylor I said that.”  
“My lips are sealed,” Patrick laughs. “But really, I'm glad you like it. You'll have to send me pictures until I can see it in person.”  
“I will,” Stephanie says, peering out the window to the street several stories below. “How's tour life?”  
“Fast and tiring,” Patrick answers and Stephanie nods until she remembers he can't see her and that he's probably expecting her to say something else.  
“I miss you,” she says. She told herself she wasn't gonna do this, she wasn't gonna make him feel bad, make him worry.  
“I miss you, too, Steph, so much. It's just a few more weeks, though, and then I'll be home for a while.”  
“No, I know,” she says quickly. “I didn't – I don't – yeah, just a few more weeks.”  
“Are you sure you're okay?” Patrick asks and Stephanie can hear the concern in his voice, the concern that he's so desperately trying to keep hidden.  
“Yeah, no, I'm fine. I promise. I'm probably just going nuts from how many apartments we've seen,” she says, trying to laugh it off.  
It seems to pacify Patrick and he tells her how Pete decided it'd be a good idea to throw paper airplanes over the fence at fans and by the time he has to leave, she feels a lot better. She tends to exist in her own head sometimes and it can make her imagine things, feel things that she normally wouldn't, like the near-crippling anxiety she'd been feeling as she and Taylor look at different apartments. Sure, she'd still like it more if Patrick was here, but talking to him alleviated a lot of the nerves she'd been having. Stephanie goes back to the living room where Taylor is just finishing up her part of the paperwork, so she heads over and does her portion of the signatures.   
“I'll submit the paperwork and I'll call you the moment I hear anything back,” the realtor says and Taylor and Stephanie nod.   
They all walk out together, Stephanie and Taylor heading back to their hotel room. “This is gonna be really awesome, isn't it?” Stephanie says, smiling widely, starting to laugh when Taylor's face lights up.  
“Hell yeah! We're gonna kick ass, basically.”  
Stephanie just shakes her head as they walk into the hotel room and flop on their beds.   
“So how's Patrick?” Taylor asks, turning on her side to face Stephanie.  
“Good,” she answers. “He seemed really happy. But of course he missed me terribly,” she says, flinging her hand to her forehead dramatically.  
“Way to ham it up,” Taylor says, rolling her eyes, clearly unimpressed by Stephanie's antics.   
“You love me.”  
Taylor shrugs. “It's a curse, what can I say?”  
Stephanie just about cuts her off by throwing a pillow at her face. Taylor glares at her from behind it and has half a mind to whip it back at her, but her phone rings and Stephanie can tell by the look on her face that it's Andy. “Be right back,” she mouths to Stephanie, who nods.  
When Taylor comes back, they decide to get dinner in the hotel restaurant, which turns out to serve amazing food. By the time they get back to the room, they're both pretty tired from the excitement of the day and decide to go to bed.  
It's just getting light in the hotel room when Stephanie wakes up feeling nauseous. She figures it'll pass, but the longer she lays there, the worse she feels. Before she knows it, she's running for the bathroom and vomiting up last night's dinner. She hadn't even had time to turn on the light, but soon, Taylor's in the doorway, flicking the light on, and the exhaust fan starts up, whirring in the background.  
“Steph, what's going on?” Taylor asks groggily, rubbing her eyes. “Are you okay?”  
Stephanie flushes the toilet and closes the lid and sits down, wiping her mouth. “I don't know,” she says. “I woke up and felt really sick. I kinda feel better now, though?” The sentence ends as if she's not entirely sure she does feel better.  
Taylor moves to the sink and wets a washcloth and puts it on Stephanie's forehead. “I'm gonna go back to bed, but if you need anything, just call for me, okay? Try and get some sleep.”  
Stephanie nods, and just as Taylor leaves the room she's hit with another wave of nausea and sinks to her knees in front of the toilet again, heaving up what little is left in her stomach. When she's finished, she realizes Taylor is back. “Go to bed,” she says in a raspy voice.  
“What? You think I'm gonna let you be miserable all by yourself? Not a chance. Now come here,” Taylor says, patting her lap. Stephanie curls up in front of the toilet with her head in Taylor's lap and tries her best to sleep, but she's interrupted every fifteen to twenty minutes by an overwhelming wave of nausea. Taylor only leaves to get her fresh cups of water and to wet the washcloth. Eventually, Stephanie falls asleep at sometime around eleven and when she wakes up, Taylor's passed out leaning against the wall, mouth hanging open. Stephanie stands and moves to the sink, washing her face off and brushing her teeth. Taylor stirs and rubs her eyes, sitting on the counter next to the sink.  
“Feel better?” she asks.  
“Loads, thankfully,” Stephanie answers, brushing out her hair. “Hungry as hell though.”  
Taylor smiles. “I bet! I'll get dressed and we can go get some food for you. What do you think it was that you ate last night that did it?”  
Stephanie shrugs. “I don't know,” she says, puzzled. “I didn't even have meat.”  
“Maybe something else did it? Either way, I'm glad you're feeling better!”  
“Me too,” Stephanie agrees.   
They eat lunch in relative silence, what with how hungry Stephanie is.   
“Are you gonna tell Patrick about getting sick?” Taylor asks conversationally.  
Stephanie shrugs, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Probably not. I don't really see why I should make him worry if I'm feeling back to normal.”  
“I suppose,” Taylor says. “Maybe it was just some kind of bug.”  
“Could be,” Stephanie says. “Now shut up and let me eat.”  
“As you wish,” Taylor laughs and takes a bite of her burger. She doesn't want to say anything to Stephanie but she has a lingering feeling that she can't quite place. She shrugs it off and doesn't think about it for the rest of the meal.  
They spend the rest of the day in their hotel room, blogging and writing and hoping to hear from the realtor, which, of course, they don't.   
“I'm gonna run to the convenience store on the corner,” Taylor says. “Do you need anything?”  
“I don't think so,” Stephanie says, glancing up from her phone. Taylor nods and leaves and a few minutes later, Stephanie's phone rings.  
“Patrick,” she says warmly.  
“Hey, Steph,” Patrick says happily. “Did you hear anything back from the realtor yet?”  
“No, nothing. We were both hoping, but maybe tomorrow.”  
“I hope so. I really want you two to get this place. The pictures you sent look really nice, too.”  
“I really hope we get it, too. It's really grown on me,” Stephanie says, thinking of the apartment fondly. “How was last night's show?”  
“It went really well,” Patrick says, “and when I went out after the show, a couple girls asked about you and told me they loved your blog.”  
“Oh my god,” Stephanie laughs, inwardly cringing. “What did you say?”  
“I told them I hadn't seen it and that you were doing well.”  
“Thank god. They'd probably crap their pants if they thought you went on tumblr and actually looked at blogs.”  
“One of them said they missed 'Stump Fluff',” Patrick says, trying to hold back his laughter.  
“I'm going to find them and I'm going to kill them.”  
“I thought it was funny,” Patrick says, openly laughing now.  
“You are ridiculous, you know that?”  
“I was under the impression that being ridiculous was in my job description as both the lead singer of a band and your boyfriend.”  
Stephanie's stomach flips in pleasure upon hearing him refer to himself as her boyfriend. It seems like such a childish word, but that's what he is and it makes her infinitely happy. “I suppose it is. I can't wait until you're here so I can stay in bed with you for a week straight.”  
“Well, I'll have to check my schedule –”  
“Oh, shut up. Break a leg tonight, you know, figuratively.”  
“I'll do my best,” Patrick says. “I love you, Stephanie.”  
“I love you too.”  
They hang up and moments later Taylor comes back into the room. “That was good timing,” Stephanie comments.  
“I do try,” Taylor says cockily. “I'm gonna go shower,” she says, putting down her bag from the store.  
“Don't drown!” Stephanie calls as Taylor heads toward the bathroom. She flips Stephanie off without looking back and Stephanie rolls her eyes and laughs. Talking with Patrick put her in a good mood, but she's also exhausted even though they didn't do hardly anything today. She figures it's because of being sick earlier that morning. When Taylor gets out of the shower and comes back into the room, Stephanie's already asleep, her book almost falling off the bed. Taylor marks her page (because she's a fabulous friend) and places it on Stephanie's nightstand and crawls into bed. She sleeps soundly, forgetting easily about what she picked up at the store – until she's woken up at roughly the same time as the morning before by Stephanie getting sick again.  
“Steph,” she says, standing in the doorway.  
“It's gotta be a bug,” Stephanie says, standing and leaning against the counter.  
Taylor holds out a box, her expression unreadable.  
“Are you kidding me?” Stephanie asks incredulously.  
“Humor me, all right?”  
“Taylor, these are pregnancy tests. I'm not pregnant.”  
“Please?” Taylor says, feeling slightly guilty because it's probably not the best thing to spring on Stephanie, but she's had a funny feeling that she just can't shake.   
Stephanie rolls her eyes. “Fine, but you're nuts,” she says, pushing Taylor out of the bathroom.  
Insane. Absolutely insane, Stephanie thinks. There's no way I'm pregnant. She takes the test and places it on a tissue on the counter and waits for it to show the results. While she's waiting she gets sick again and when she's finished, she sits on the lid of the toilet and she can't help but wonder what would happen if she really is pregnant. It's really inconvenient and she's not sure she's actually ready for something like a baby, another human to take care of. The longer she thinks, the more she starts to freak out. It's been longer than the box said it should take, but Stephanie's not sure she can bring herself to look. She picks up the test, but actively looks anywhere else but it. She opens the bathroom door and Taylor stands up from the bed.   
“Well?”  
“I haven't looked yet,” Stephanie says sheepishly. “I don't know if I can.”  
Taylor moves toward her. “Do you want me to?”  
Stephanie nods, but at the same moment, she feels nauseous and drops the test in her rush to the toilet. Taylor picks it up and her eyes widen at the results. She sits down on the bed, chewing on the inside of her cheek. When Stephanie reemerges, her eyes are bloodshot. She looks at Taylor with a worried expression.  
“You should call Patrick.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a fic I'm writing for my friend who is basically Patrick's soulmate. That's about it.


End file.
